Too Close For Comfort
by escapistclam
Summary: AU OOC. Jacob's father died in the car accident and his mother remarried. For almost 2 yrs now, Jacob has been in a juvenile detention center for a crime he didn't commit. He meets Bella, a student in social work and his life takes an unexpected turn
1. Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

Friday, 2:55 pm

Jacob Black and six of his inmates, followed by two guards, trudged their way from their cellblock to the building where another of their weekly session of life-skills training were about to commence.

The bright May sun was invading the large yard of the Twin Groves Juvenile Correction Center. Today was the first time in a week that Jacob felt more disinclined than usual to go back inside the cold grey walls of a building - especially after having spent the first six hours of his day in another one just like it.

It really had nothing to do with the course itself - Jacob didn't hate it. The teacher, a stout and affable middle-aged woman was investing her heart and soul into teaching the kids in her class something that could prove useful in their post-juvie lives. It wasn't completely useless as it gave Jacob the chance to study for the driving license exam he planned on taking as soon as he got out. Mrs. Quigley had been kind enough to regularly provide him with car magazines. She knew cars were his main interest and it gave her a sense of fulfilment to see that she could support the kids in any of their interests.

No, _this_ definitely wasn't a waste of time, Jacob thought sarcastically. That's what group therapy or _counseleing_, as they called it, was. Jacob winced to himself at the mere thought of it.

Jacob was looking at the the narrow strip of grass-covered hills visible between the clear blue sky and the razor barbed wire coils atop the high fence, when a movement turned his attention to the main gate. As he watched the two guards enter, he noticed they were escorting a new inmate to join the ranks. The shrill orange color of his uniform made that clear.

They were taking him to the check-in point, which was in the same building where they were going for their course. As the three of them approached his group, Jacob got a closer look at the newbie's face. He was short and scrawny, his skin color and features clearly showing that he was Native American too. Jacob couldn't tell the age of the kid - from the distance he looked 13 or 14 - but he was probably a little older. The very big glasses and the two long braids of hair made him look like a little school girl.

His inmates' jokes and snickers centered precisely on that fact. On their way to the building they continued to taunt the boy, until one of the guards barked at them to put a cork in it and move their asses into class.

For the next hour, Jacob's mind was solely focused on the subject discussed in the life-skills course: applying and interviewing for a job. He continued to think about what he'd heard the teacher say and about the subject of the assignment she'd given them.

When he entered the room, Jacob was shocked at the sight in front of him. The newbie with braids was comfortably lounging on his bed, arms folded under his head and one foot dangling off the edge. The creaking of the door as Jacob closed it, caused him to jump out of his contemplation and turn to face Jacob with a broad, silly smile on his face.

Before Jacob could verbalize the indignation that was all too discernible on his face, the new kid spoke:

„Hey, so you're my roommate! Officer Doherty was right that you'd be like an older brother to me!" he exclaimed with a wide, enthusiastic smile.

Jacob was starting to see in a slightly red coloring,. He knew he needed to set some things straight, or get out of the room before he inflicted some serious damage to the poor bastard sitting on his bed.

„First of all, I'm not your brother." Jacob uttered slowly through clenched teeth. „And second, no matter what bullshit officer Doherty fed you, this is no pajama party, so get the fuck off my bed!"

Throughout his speech, Jacob stared the newbie dead in the eyes, intending to leave him no doubts as to how unwelcome he was here. However, after a few seconds, the ridiculousness of the situation became too hard to ignore. There was no need for Jacob to talk him down. If the size difference wasn't enough, the look on the boy's face made it clear that he was completely clueless. He didn't have any intention of provoking Jacob, and Jacob in turn was not a bully. Sure, it never hurt to be extra-cautious here, but in this case, it would be bordering on paranoia.

After a few silent seconds of staring up at Jacob's stern face through his big glasses, the newbie remembered first to breath and then to remove himself from the foreign bed. As soon as he was standing, he regained his speech:

„I-I didn't mean to bother you... it's just that I saw a little yellow spot there on my sheets and I didn't know if it was new or if it's one of those that don't come out, or maybe they forgot to change the sheets before I came. So I thought I'd ask you, and that's why I sat on your bed till you came back. Oh, and there's a small tear-hole down there too. Nope, these sheets definitely don't look new to me".

The boy finally managed to cease his prattle and was now hoping to get some sort of answer from Jacob. He looked at him from the corner of his eye and saw that Jacob was ignoring him completely. Wearing the same sombre look on his face, he proceeded to arrange some papers into his notebooks, then putting them back on his shelf with his other books, all the while acting like he was alone in the room and nobody had ever spoken a word to him.

After a few silent moments, the newbie decided he should try a different approach - a more direct one this time - so with an awkward smile on his face, he continued:

„Hey, your bedspread looks different. I mean, not only no stains or holes in it, but the color too. Did you get it from home or do older guys get better sheets? Like, you've got that cool dark blue uniform, while they gave me this orange one. I mean jeez, I look like a new basketball ..."

Jacob had gone from seeing red to seeing tiny sparkles on top of it. After he stoically tried to endure the newbie's logorrhea - that was getting worse than the screeching of chalk on board with every second - he lost it. In the blink of an eye he'd grabbed the annoying geek by the front of his shirt and lifted him up until he was standing on tiptoes.

"Can you just SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Jacob shouted in his face. The newbie blinked repeatedly and squinted nervously, as if expecting a punch in the face.

„Did you know that there is no rhyme in English for _orange _? Same with _purple_..." the kid mumbled, leaving Jacob stupefied. With a short hiss, he released him abruptly and turned his back to him, trying to recollect his thoughts. The kid obviously couldn't stop talking when he got nervous. He just couldn't help it, and roughing him up would be utterly useless.

_Great! _Jacob told himself. He knew he wouldn't be this kid's worst fear in this place and he could think of quite a few who wouldn't stretch their patience even this far.

He ran his hand over his face, trying to dispel the tension, then turned around to the newbie who was curiously staring at him.

„Look... I never asked for a roommate. I don't know how or why you got here, but until I find out, let's get a few things straight. I don't ever want to see you near my bed, or my stuff and I want to hear you as little as possible. So I won't take none of that shit you just pulled. Got it?"

Half-turning to leave the room, Jacob remembered:

„And in case you haven't noticed, this isn't summer camp. So if you don't like your sheets, throw them, burn'em or whatever the fuck you want, it's not my problem to take care of."

When he was almost at the door, he looked over his shoulder and added with a tinge of amusement:

„You can always try to smooth-talk the warden into letting you have your spideys from home, but unless your grandma was his shorty, I doubt that he'll pass on it."

He got out of the room without taking a second look at his new roommate. but As soon as he had closed the door behind him, he felt a heaviness in the pit of his stomach that was different from the one he'd felt the day when they served some dubious burgers in the cafeteria. He knew it had nothing to do with food now, and everything to do with feeling like a jerk. He also knew that he was failing to see in what way he could have gone about this differently, but thoughts like 'it's for the better to not make friends in this place" and „a roommate/friend/brother don't fit into the scheme right now" were interfering with any other possible thinking processes. He was also late now, so he sprinted down the halls towards the gym, leaving all other considerations for later.

One hour and a shower later, Jacob entered the dining hall a tad more relaxed. He was about to follow his usual meal routine of almost two years now. This meant grabbing a tray and putting on it whatever they were serving at the cafeteria and taking it to the seat nearest to the window. He had his usual stern face on and was prepared to stare down any idiot who'd dare let his eyes linger on him more than the inevitable first second.

Just as he was getting in line at the serving area, Jacob saw and heard something that brought the reddish veil over his vision for the second time that day. His roommate was first in line and had struck up a conversation with the two guys in charge of serving the food. Jacob knew them well, they were around his age and on the job, hoping to earn some much needed points for good behavior.

„Hey newbie, nice braids you got there. What's your name?" the fat one crowed, plastering a nauseating smile on his greasy face.

„ Oh, me? I'm Jebediah Wilber!" the newbie replied pleasantly, surprised by the attention.

Jacob realized that it was the first time he had heard the kid's name. A second later he realized that the poor kid had one more reason to feel unlucky, besides his looks and poor wits. The two guys behind the counter seemed to believe exactly the same, and they showed it. One burst into a belly of laughter, and the other into a creepy chortle.

„Was that your name or did you stutter?" the fat guy taunted, his ear-to-ear grin still in place.

„I don't stutter..." Jebediah smiled awkwardly, obviously clueless about the nature of this conversation.

„And where're you from, braids?" the fat guy asked again, as the lanky-slouchy one preferred to just titter stupidly and listen.

„I'm from Boise, but I grew up in Glenns Ferry" the gullible boy continued, dispensing an unnecessary amount of information out of simple courtesy.

„Glenns Ferry you said? There was this one girl I knew from there, what was her name?..." he scrunched his face pretending to concentrate on remembering the name.

„Ah, Britney! Yo Nick! Do you remember Britney?" he looked over his shoulder to the guy who was now bobbing his head in recognition and flashing his chainsaw teeth with a wide grin.

„So, do you know Britney?" he asked Jebediah again with a rude grin.

„I might..." Jebediah replied not really knowing what he was expected to say.

The answer seemed to satisfy the two, as they once again erupted in horselaughter.

Jacob knew all too well that Britney wasn't an actual girl from Glenns Ferry, but the bullies' code name for ‚newbie with chances of becoming their bitch'.

The whole scene was cringeworthy to say the least, and Jacob knew he couldn't take one more second of this scornfest, when his hands squeezed the tray so hard he felt the edges starting to deform. It was not like him to do this, but he pushed past the two kids in front of him in line. When he was right behind Jebediah, he growled lowly:

„Move or get the fuck out of the line."

Jebediah seemed to snap back to reality. Looking worried, he moved the plate onto his tray and stepped aside to make way for the rest of the line.

„Oh c'mon Black, we're just trying to make friends with your lil'bro. You don't have to be all up in his ass like that..." the fat boy half-mouthed what he intended to be a pun.

Jacob didn't bother to answer as he knew that neither of the two pricks dared to even speak to him outside of public contexts like this. He chose to just throw them a murderous look instead, then snatched his tray and went to sit at his usual place.

In passing by, he didn't notice Jebediah standing with his tray in his hands. He was thoughtfully analyzing the free seats, hoping to figure out where it would be safe for him to sit down and have his dinner.

Minutes later, Jacob was yet again stunned to see his roommate casually place his tray at his table and sit on the seat in front of him. He couldn't even be impressed by Jebediah's ballsiness - the kid just had no sense of self-preservation, and Jacob was truly starting to pity him.

„Remind me, when did I invite you to join me for dinner?" Jacob spoke in his usual low voice, actually managing to not sound angry this time.

For the seemingly one hundredth time, Jebediah looked back at him with a dazed expression.

„The free seats were all in this area and I only know you so –„

„Never mind" Jacob interrupted, trying to prevent another word flood from coming his way.

They ate in silence for the next few minutes, until Jebediah decided that he should do something to lighten up the atmosphere, since Jacob seemed to be exclusively engaged in the task of clearing up his plate as quick as possible. He eyed the tea cup on his tray and the idea lit his face like a light bulb:

„Did you know that when tea was first introduced in England, people threw away the liquid of the infusion but kept the leaves, and ate them seasoned with salt and pepper?"

Jacob slowly lifted his head to look at Jebediah's smiling face. Before he could formulate an answer, his eyes slipped past his roomie's head, distracted by what he saw some ten feet away from their table. Sitting at a parallel row of tables, were a particular cluster of assholes that Jacob knew all too well. They were Leon and his gang, or as Jacob saw it, Leon, his younger protege Diego, and a variable flock of bootlickers.

Leon was his oldest 'acquaintance' from the group. He was a few months older than Jacob and was already in the facility when Jacob got there. Immediately, he had tried to persuade Jacob to join his 'cool gang'. Jacob had felt nothing but rage and comtempt toward the place and the people in it, not to mention the people who had put him there, since his first weeks in juvie, so Leon's attempts were met with nothing but stiff resistance.

Getting on his bad side was just a small step from there, and two weeks after arriving at Twin Groves, Jacob took that step.

It all started with Jacob's sister, Rachel's, first visit in this place and concluded with Jacob breaking Leon's nose after hearing him say that his sister was 'a fine piece of ass' and that he'd make sure to get her number next time.

There were few things that made Jacob fly off the handle like that, and hearing someone talk shit about his family was the first one. Nevertheless, he got himself a day of time-out for this, which meant being locked in a small, empty room with virtually no light and nothing but a toilet, a sink and a matress. But he still didn't regret his deed.

Leon, however, had plans to make Jacob regret it, and fear his name for the rest of his stay in the hall. As a show of Leon's power, Jacob was rendered unconscious in the shower one day. He was fortunate that his elder roommate came in just in time to stop them and take him to the infirmary.

Leon got two days in solitary and a two month extension of his time for this, but Jacob was sure that it only made him feel more proud that the reputation he wanted for himself would thrive as a consequence. Jacob could now read him like an open book: all his ambitions in life were limited to his gang, his badass reputation and how he could scare or push around the weaker kids. He would probably do what it took to carry that on to prison, as Jacob didn't believe Leon had a real chance of making it outside. There were bigger fish in the real world.

Now, same as always, Leon and his pets were sitting at the neighbouring row of tables, staring at Jacob's roommate and now dinner companion. All the while they were sneering, snickering like hyenas and whispering to each other. Jacob could understand it all perfectly without having to actually hear the words.

The sight made him lose the last bit of appetite. His gaze shifted to Jebediah, who was now casually rolling his eyes around him, studying the faces of other inmates who were eating there, completely oblivious to the ones behind him.

Jacob just couldn't fathom the reasons why warden Crawley had decided to put this kid in his room. How was this going to help him keep a low profile and not draw any unneeded attention to himself, he had no idea ...

However, it was not his own safety that he felt threatened for right now. He had stopped seeing Leon and his shifty gang as a personal threat to himself a while ago, after he'd gone through the craziest growth spurt of his life, and probably of all the kids in the place.

As a result, he was not only one of the tallest boys in the establishment, but also pretty buff. He could look quite intimidating without even trying. He had taken the advice of the only friend he'd ever had in this place, and started hitting the gym regularly. It seemed to pay off, as no one else dared to cross him after the episode with Leon.

Up until this moment, even Leon had somehow ignored his existence. Probably because he was unwilling to expose himself to the public humiliation of having to face a Jacob who'd be towering over him with a ten inches height advantage.

Leaning forward to speak to Jebediah without Leon or his stooges reading his lips, he faced very large lenses and the eyes that seemed to widen impossibly underneath them.

„If you don't want to get into some serious trouble, finish eating that crap you got there, or throw it away, then move your ass to the room in the next two minutes".

He rose from his chair, emptied his tray into the bin, placed it on the counter on top of other dirty trays and started towards the exit.

Jebediah stood in place for a few seconds, trying to comprehend the reasons why Jacob had talked to him in that tone again. He had no idea, and fearing the consequences of what would happen if he chose to disobey, he followed Jacob's same sequence of movements and cleared out of the place.

The rest of the evening went by peacefully. Jacob engrossed himself in reading some books and magazines in search of information he needed for his homework. Jebediah unpacked his things and just waited for time to go by, all the while making great efforts to not ask Jacob the thousand questions that went through his mind.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

_Special thanks to my lovely betas __**Pooks79**__ and __**Willow2883**__ for being incredibly patient and helpful and a big shout-out to __**evermine**__, __**TheMightyRen**__ and __**Naranwien**__, who inspired and supported me to write and post this story :*_


	2. Chapter 2

**Many thanks to the lovely people who put this story or me on alert and of course, hugs&kisses to my wonderful betas Pooks79 and Willow2883 (if you haven't already, you really should check out their stories, because they're 2 of the best authors I know on FF)**

**And yea, cuz I forgot it the first time :p – Disclaimer : I don't own Twilight or any of the characters in it, they're all Stephenie Meyers' babies.**

**CHAPTER 2**

The next morning, Jacob woke up early, looking preoccupied or irritated. Jebediah thought it wise not to venture into risky territory again, so he kept his mouth shut and just tagged along to breakfast and back. Oddly enough, Jacob didn't object to this in any way. He didn't even seem to take much notice of Jebediah following him around.

The reason was probably because Jacob had a group therapy session that he had to attend later in the morning. He hated it with a passion and counted the minutes and seconds until time was up. For him, it seemed to be the same excruciatingly boring and annoying routine every week: he had to sit in a circle with four or five inmates, some of which he knew, some he didn't, and the therapist would specifically and persistently try to make them open up about subjects that were sensitive to them. Jacob hated the mask of sympathy and concern he saw on the face of the recently-graduated-magna-cum-laude-in psychology woman, and the way she relentlessly seemed to regroup and try different approaches – the kind that Jacob imagined wore the pompous name of a German psychiatrist.

Each and every time, Jacob maintained his evasiveness, and let out no other information than what he thought she'd expect to hear from him. He was expecting at any time now to be called in for a private discussion by her or the warden, in regards to his lack of cooperation. He almost felt sorry that he couldn't put on a heart-breaking show like Leon and Diego, and break down into tears in front of her over past behaviors and decisions.

Jacob couldn't see the use in pouring his heart out in front of a stranger and a bunch of kids who could care less about his problems. He'd had it up to his neck with hearing about taking responsibility for and acknowledging the effect of one's actions on the people in his life. He wasn't the one who needed to hear that.

If anything, having to sit through two hours of this made Jacob feel drained, and all he could think of on the way to his room was how much he missed sitting on a driftlog and watching the waves crash onto the rocks of First Beach...

Amazingly, Jebediah was on his best behavior, and he showed that he understood the meaning of the phrase 'don't hit a man when he's down'. Or, in his case, don't bug the hell out of him by blabbering about things he had no interest in.

When lunch time came, Jacob hauled his apathetic self to the dining hall and Jebediah followed closely, just as he had at breakfast.

After lunch, Jacob noticed that some guys had gathered in the yard to play basketball . Suddenly, breaking some sweat to take his mind off things seemed like a very good idea. He knew that any of the guys would be happy to have him on their team, so he rushed out, not even considering telling Jebediah about the game.

Almost an hour later, Jacob and the others were drenched and mollified. Most of them decided to sit on the benches or concrete in the yard for the remaining time, until the warden would decide that they'd had enough sunshine for the day.

As Jacob was sitting and watching nothing in particular, someone sat right next to him. They didn't ask for his permission, or even announce their presence with any type of greeting. Jacob didn't even need to turn his head to know who the tiny, braided figure and guts sitting next to him belonged to.

„If you want to shoot some hoops, you're kind of late. Like, an hour late." Jacob informed him, with what came close to an actual smile.

„Um, no, I'm not so much into basketball..." Jebediah replied, slightly flattered. Jacob wasn't even surprised that the kid hadn't caught the irony in his words, or the unuttered _'you don't say!'_ floating in the air.

„So, is Black your real name? I mean at first I thought it was a nickname or something, because of your uniform. But then I saw others with black uniforms and black hair too, so it couldn't really be about your hair; then again your skin is not black either. I mean it would've made more sense to call you _Red_ in that case then, wouldn't it?" Jebediah spoke again without taking a second breath, and stopped only to flash a nervous grin at Jacob.

_Indeed, old habits die hard,_ Jacob thought scowling in disappointment. He wiped the sweat off his face and concocted an answer before Jebediah could come up with something to add:

„Yes, Black is my last name. It is my real name just as much as yours is... what's your name again?"

„Jebediah Wil-"

„It's Jed."

„What?"

Jacob gathered all his patience and lowered his head to Jed's level in the manner of a coach giving instructions to his players during the game. He elaborated without further ado: 

„Listen to me, do yourself a favor and don't _ever_ tell your full name again to anyone in this place. When someone asks you your name, just say it's Jed, and stop giving answers that are longer than the questions . Even better, don't even answer, because most of the times they don't even want to hear what you have to say. Just pretend that you're mute or you don't understand English and that will work better for you."

„If you mean the guys in the cafeteria, they haven't said a word to me since then... But I honestly don't see what's the big deal about people being friendly and talking to each other here ... ", Jed reacted with confusion written all over his face.

„Look Jed... I don't know how you got here, but you need to learn to keep to yourself more, coz people here will use what they know about you and turn it against you... You should trust me when I tell you that some messed-up things happen here, and if you don't watch your own ass, you'll find out the hard way what I mean..."

Jed studied Jacob's face cautiously, trying to discern if what he'd just heard was meant to be a threat or a warning. He opted for the latter and shifted his eyes to the side of the massive grey cellblock, whose only adornments were the square barred windows. Jed quickly snapped out of his uncharacteristic pensive mood and commented with his usual geeky grin:

„It's funny how people in prison spend their time looking through bars from the inside wanting to get out, while people at work spend their time wanting to get out and inside bars."

Jacob was not even slightly annoyed that Jed had once again chosen to digress from the subject by answering with one of his silly jokes. He was getting used to it, and he knew that Jed had heard him well.

„What the hell are you in for anyway?" Jacob asked Jed, turning his head to look at him for the first time since he'd sat next to him.

„I...uh...not much...I kind of got caught in the wrong place at the wrong time..." Jed looked at Jacob and, much to his chagrin, was met with a look of sincere interest. Jacob was actually surprised to see Jed having a hard time finding his words for once, instead of releasing hundreds of them in between two breaths. After a moment of thought, Jed drew in a deep breath and went for the band-aid technique.

„Well there were these guys I knew in my hood and they said that if I carried something for them, they knew a guy at the club who could get us in. There was this girl that I liked and she was working there, so they said they'd introduce me." Jed paused abruptly and gulped, before resuming:

"So I said yes. I put the thing in my backpack and went to where they said someone would meet me to take it, and I waited. Then this guy came, but he was like, in a big hurry, and when I was unzipping my backpack, he just ran away." Another short pause and a gulp.

"And then a police car stopped at the curb and two policemen grabbed me and took me to the station and I was charged with p-possession..."

„Did you at least get to talk to the girl?" Jacob asked with an amused but pitying look.

„No."

„Did any of the other guys get busted?"

„No." Jed reluctantly replied with his eyes cast down, in the same posture he'd assumed since the last half of his confession.

„You'll get out of here quickly, so hopefully you at least learned something from it..."

Jed didn't answer, but after a couple of seconds, he lifted his eyes to Jacob and asked in a lively tone:

„What did you do to get here?"

Jacob seemed to think for a few moments , but the sound of officer Doherty's voice barking at them to get up and back to their cells interrupted his meditation. The only thing he answered as he got up was:

„I have bad luck with authority figures..."

Except for dinner, they spent the rest of the evening in their room. Jed asked Jacob's permission to look through some of his books. Booksalways helped him relieve some boredom, and in this instance to also get somewhat acquainted with the curriculum, since he would be joining classes the next week.

The next day was Sunday, the most boring and slowest day of the week according to Jacob. This one even more so, because it had been raining constantly since the early morning. It seemed very clear to him that he'd be spending his time the same way he did on any day like this - catching up on reading, studying or working on some school papers. He started doing just that as soon as he'd returned to his room after breakfast.

Jed didn't bother him much. In fact, except for telling him during breakfast that ostrich eggs take up to two hours to get hard boiled, Jacob didn't even remember hearing his voice for the first half of the day.

They went to lunch together, after which Jacob returned to his room and to his activities of before. A couple of hours later, he realized two things: first, he needed a book for some references in an essay, and second, Jed hadn't been in the room for quite a while.

On his way to the main library, there was a large hall with regular tables and a few soccer and pool tables that the warden let the kids use for a couple of hours on some days.

Jacob, who had no intention of mingling with his inmates, passed by the tables and headed directly to the library. The sight he caught out of the corner of his eye as he was approaching the entry, made him slow his steps and take a proper look. He had a hard time believing what he saw clear as daylight: Jed was sitting at one of the tables, surrounded by none other than Leon and his boys and he seemed to be having a wonderful time playing a game of chess or cards - Jacob couldn't see exactly what from where he stood. He turned his head and went into the library, trying to hold his temper and remember what the initial reason was that he had come here for.

After he found the book he needed and picked it up, he intended to go back to his room without taking another look at the table where Jed was sitting. However**,** as soon as he stepped into the hall again, his ears involuntarily pickedup on the sound of Jed's timid voice and the monkey laughter that ensued. His legs seemed to have a mind of their own and with a few determined strides, he was right at the table.

Jed was so busy entertaining his game companions that he didn't see Jacob approaching. Unlike Diego. who noticed him in the distance and discreetly nudged Leon.

Jacob leaned forward and propped both fists on the table, so that what he wanted to say wouldn't reach beyond the perimeter of the table, and certainly not to the ears of the guards standing by.

"Move your ass to the room now and clean up that filthy mess you left there, or I swear I'll hang you by your pigtails."

Jed looked rightfully shocked and stupefied at hearing Jacob's words. It wasn't only the obviousness of the fact that his roommate was a scary looking and potentially dangerous giant, but now he seemed to not even need a justified reason to get pissed at him. He was sure he didn't leave a mess in the room, he just wasn't a messy person. So there it was...

However, the resolutely angry stare Jacob was giving him told him that it wasn't in his best interest to argue with him right now. So, without a word, Jed slowly got up from the chair and started walking towards the stairs, in the direction of his room.

The incident brought silence to the table and each of the boys seemed lost in some consideration of Jacob's attitude, whether it was that they wished they could master the daunting stare or that they were relieved not to be in Jed's shoes. Leon, however was not in the same boat, and he hadn't lost his smug face for a moment. When Jacob turned from the table to follow Jed, he spoke in a mocking tone, loud enough to be heard by everyone around:

„Aw, Chief got angry at us for stealing his squaw..."

Same as before, Jacob's feet reacted independently of him and refused to move him forward for a couple of seconds. Feeling the rush of blood to his head, Jacob clenched his fists and with an unnatural effort, he managed to will down the urge to let go of all self-control and turn Leon into a grease spot on the floor.

He went up the stairs, passing Jed in the hallway and stormed into his room. As Jed followed and closed the door behind him, he was met with the unsettling sight of Jacob pacing up and down like a caged lion.

„What the fuck is wrong with you?" Jacob burst out. "Didn't you understand anything I said?"

The befuddled look on Jed's face said that he didn't even understand why Jacob was shouting at him right now. Jacob realized he needed to explain himself and tone down his temper as much as he could.

"Of all people, you choose to hang out with that fake-ass-gangsta-wannabe Leon, his sidekick, and that bunch of lunks -"

„They weren't doing anything wrong, they were just being friendly" Jed cut in. He couldn't believe that he was hearing his own voice.

"They are not friendly, they are manipulative, for fuck's sake. Wake up, man! They play nice until they get you to trust them and then they'll use you any way they like, and you'll have no say in it... Jees, with what got you here in the first place, it should at least ring a bell with you!"

Jacob looked more worried than angry, but Jed wasn't impressed, so against his better judgement, he decided he'd just let his mouth run and worry about the consequences later.

"They're not that bad, they were actually nice to me, which is more than I can say about you. You've been talking down to me since I got here, and you always look like you want to throw me around. You have no friends here, so maybe _you're_ the one with the problem, not them".

With every word he heard, Jacob's eyes grew colder and his jaw muscles tightened, until Jed paused and he decided he didn't want to continue this discussion any longer.

"You know what dude? If you're gonna listen to the shit that Leon and the others tell you about me, I'm not wasting anymore time on you. You're on your own."

With that, Jacob rushed out the door and slammed it behind him. He went to the gym to blow off some steam and didn't return to his room until dinner time. When he came back, Jed was gone, so he decided to just skip dinner. He didn't want to cross paths with Jed or his newly acquired 'friends'.


	3. Chapter 3

_As usual, I don't own Twilight or any of its recognizable characters._

_Many chocolate hearts to my lovelies __**Pooks79 **__and__** Willow2883 **__for beta'ing this chapter as well :**_

**CHAPTER 3**

The evening went by painfully slow. There were no words exchanged, not even a proper look between the two of them, just charged silence. The next day unfolded the same way, and so did the day after that. Jacob didn't really mind, after all he was used to the silence and solitude.

If there was an alternative to eating at the cafeteria, he would have no doubt taken it. Anything to avoid the riling sight of Jed sitting at the table with the pack of rats he called his new friends. Since he had no other choice than the infirmary, he rushed through his meals even more than before, even skipping some.

Jed had started classes, so Jacob saw him mostly in the evening. They both kept themselves busy with homework or reading, until the time for bed came and lights went out.

On Wednesday evening after dinner, Jacob returned to his room after dragging it out as long as possible on the basketball field. Usually, he would find Jed sitting at the desk writing or lying on his bed reading, but this time he wasn't doing either. Jed was already in his bed, although it wasn't yet fully dark outside, and there were no lights on in the room. He was lying on his side, with his back to Jacob, facing the wall. He was dressed in his daytime clothes and his shoes were still on.

This looked more than a little suspicious to Jacob. As little as he knew Jed, he knew that it wasn't like him to be lazy or careless in that way - the guy was a neat freak. He walked casually towards his own bed, and before reaching to switch on his bedlamp, he thought to check:

"You awake?"

Two or three seconds passed until the answer finally came.

„Yes..."

The scratchy, uneven voice sounded nothing like Jed's, and the congested timbre told Jacob that Jed had clearly been crying.

"Are you ok, man?"

Another couple of seconds passed before Jed replied, his voice sounding even more pathetic.

„Not really..."

Jacob didn't wait for clarifications, he switched on the ceiling light and approached Jed's bed. He tried to flip him on his back to get a look at him. The move ellicited a series of ‚ouches', hisses and moans from Jed and Jacob jerked his hand back as if it had been burned the moment he got a full view of Jed's face.

He didn't have his glasses on; his left cheekbone and eye area were red, swollen, and starting to bruise, and his lower lip was busted open as well. Those injuries didn't come from falling down the stairs. Jacob was positive that someone had taken to re-arranging his face and bringing him to that deplorable state. Seeing Jed all curled up in a ball and keeping his arms tightly folded against his chest, Jacob was worried about the possibility of internal injuries as well.

As he looked at the poor boy, a string of flashbacks bombarded his mind. For the first time in two years, he could remember the metallic taste of his own blood, and the all-encompassing pain of even breathing. He had felt as if a two ton boulder were dropped on him, not letting him budge an inch. He couldn't even open his eyes, the light had seemed blinding when he tried. That's why he only _heard_ his friend come to his rescue, as he carried him on his shoulders to the infirmary.

Paytah, or Scar Pete as everyone seemed to call him, was a gargantuan 18-year old Native American. He was Jacob's roommate for the first six months of his time at Twin Groves. It was not only his imposing height of close to 7 feet, and his gladiator-like build, but also the long diagonal scar that slashed across his left eyebrow, eye and cheek, which induced awe or fear upon first sight. His harsh features and laconism added to that, were enough to keep Jacob partially awake each night of his first weeks in the place.

The incident with Leon had given him the chance to see a different side of Paytah. He was indeed surprised to find that Paytah was not a brute, but just kept mostly to himself. It was actually the first advice Jacob had received from him.

When Jacob returned to his room one day and found that all of Paytah's stuff had been cleared out, he hoped in vain for some type of explanation. Yet no one seemed willing to offer him one, and the rumours that started circulating around the place about the reason of his sudden departure just didn't make any sense to Jacob. Paytah was not like that, he couldn't be. His younger brothers were the apple of his eye, and he put himself aside for them. Instead of going to school, he worked from a young age, to make up for the lack of a father, and to help his mother not get overwhelmed. It wasn't like him to do what they were bad-mouthing him for. After all, the reason he got locked up in the first place was for putting the crooked policeman, who kept wringing money out of his friends and preying on their girls, in the hospital.

Jacob had been an antagonistic and recalcitrant ass his first days at Twin Groves. All he could think of was that his sister was left alone with that creep of a step-father, and he had no idea how long he'd be stuck in this shithole. Paytah had put up with him without so much as crooking an eyebrow at him, although he knew he could have put him in his place without even breaking a sweat. Back then he was just a lanky kid with a glower from hell.

It was a completely different story with Jed. He was just a harmless, guileless nerd, whose only fault was wanting to fit in too much. Jacob was sure that he couldn't have done anything to deserve this kind of treatment, and those who were accountable had to be punished.

„Who did this to you, and why?"

„Diego... and two others... I just... told him a joke..."

„It figures... I'm gonna get you to the infirmary. You need to get checked for broken ribs, if not worse." Jacob said while thinking of a way to pick him up without causing him further damage.

„No!" Jed tried to object, but a searing pain shot through his chest and quieted him instantly. He squeezed his eyes shut for a few seconds, then he returned to whispering:

„Diego said that if I rat him out, next time he'll kill me."

„Trust me, he won't."

„You don't have to get into trouble for this..."

„I won't, but he will. I'll report him and the other asswipes and make sure that he cuddles with the real rats in the cooler for a few days. Maybe that will get some sense of humor in him for a change."

„I don't know..."

„Shut up, Jed." Jacob said before scooping up featherlight Jed and carrying him to the infirmary.

Jed spent the next two days and nights there, under observation, due to the two broken ribs, some other injuries as well as his generally frail constitution. Jacob came to visit him each day after classes. He also met his teachers and got his homework for him. It felt very weird when he had to read everything out for Jed, because without his glasses, he was blind as a bat, and he still had a few days until the new ones would be delivered.

Jacob had to admit, spending time with Jed was not all that bad. He could even be amusing when he didn't feel threatened or nervous. It was not only Jed who felt the need for companionship. Jacob had not become anti-social by own volition.

As Jed regained his verbose mood fairly quickly, Jacob was subjected to a plethora of details about his life after moving to Nampa. Mostly about his earlier life growing up in a small town in south Idaho. His aunt and uncle owned an old two-level house there. They held a corner-shop on the ground level and lived in the rooms upstairs. He had spent most of his time there with his older cousin and helping his aunt with the shop, especially after his uncle passed away. The way he spoke about his aunt, it was clear that he was very attached to her. He seemed to hold more esteem of her than of his own mother. He said that his aunt was the kindest and wisest woman he knew, and that he missed his life in Glenns Ferry more than anything else. He even suggested that someday, Jacob should join him for a visit to his aunt, to meet her and have a taste of her famously delicious pecan pie.

By the weekend, Jed had moved back to the room, so Jacob didn't worry about him anymore. Diego had been put in solitary, and his two helpers were going to follow. Leon seemed quite displeased and even lonely, but he did nothing other than dart angry looks at Jacob and Jed whenever he saw them.

However, Jacob had other things on his mind right now. The first of them being the GED exam that he wanted to take and pass the following day. Taking advantage of as many studying possibilites as he could in this place was advice from Paytah that he had taken and put into practice right away. Between him and his sister Rachel, he was sure that she was the smarter one, and he wished nothing more than to see her going to college some day. That's why he was not going to lay down his arms and let his step-father destroy their lives so easily.

He would get out of this place and become the real man in the house in no longer than 6 months. He just hoped it wasn't too long, and that Rachel could hang on to her hope and faith till then.

Jed had honestly wanted to leave Jacob to his studies, but he was bored out of his mind. He kept throwing side-peeks to a frowning, face-rubbing Jacob, who was burried elbows-deep into his books, maps, charts and notes. He decided to throw caution to the wind and risk Jacob's nerves exploding in his face. He just had to help him out somehow:

„Hey man, how's the studying going?"

„Not going... rather crawling, like a dying snail..." Jacob grumbled with his head propped in both hands on the desk.

Jed was amazed that he hadn't been barked at to shut up, like he expected. That showed Jacob was in real need of some help.

„Where seems to be the problem? Or better, just tell me - what subject do you hate most?"

Jacob unwillingly lifted his tired, slightly reddened eyes to meet Jed's cheerful expression.

„Uh... history, I guess... politics and such..."

„History, really? I'm a history geek! Well, I'm an eveything geek, but history is my forte." Jed almost bounced on his bed with excitement.

„Did you know that only Hancock and actually signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4th? Most of the rest signed on August 2 and the last signature was added some 5 years later."

With that, Jacob knew he had opened the door to a long series of did-you-knows, and funny facts and even if most of them wouldn't be of any use to him in the actual exam, they were a welcome distraction. To an extent, of course. Surprisingly enough, Jed proved quite helpful, and in the end, he helped Jacob organize his learning more efficiently.

When he heard the joke that set Diego on a rampage, he became firmly convinced of two things: Diego was completely humor challenged, and Jed had some incredibly bad luck.

„All I remember is that they were talking about sports, football and such, and Diego asked me if I could play some sport other than chess. While I was thinking to answer, one other guy, Miguel I think, said maybe I could play golf 'cause at least there the ball wouldn't outweigh me..."

At this point Jacob was putting serious effort into not cracking a smile.

„So, I don't know, this joke just popped into my head, and I just said it out loud:

_Two detectives were investigating the murder of Juan Gonzalez. One of them asked: _

_'How was he killed?' _

_The other replied: 'With a golf gun,'_

_'A golf gun? What's a golf gun?' _

_'I don't know, but it sure made a hole in Juan.'_

How the hell was I supposed to know that Diego's father was named Juan Antonio Gonzalez, he was shot dead in a bar fight and he thought that golf was stupid... ?"

Wednesday afternoon, Jacob finally felt a little more light-hearted and relieved of some of his worries, as the final day of his GED exam was finished. He knew he had done well and now he was peacefully sorting the books he had to return to the library. He was putting the notebooks he didn't need anymore into boxes, to save up space in his small room.

„Hey Jake... you told me a lot about your sisters, but you never tell me anything about your parents..." Jed noticed that his question made Jacob tense up and lose focus. Jed tried to appease the uneasiness that his apparent indiscretion seemed to cause:

„I mean my mother raised me alone. Well, together with my aunt Daphne and uncle Victor. I never had a father... I mean I never knew my real one... but mom said that it was for the best that I didn't... and I believed her."

Jed stopped and looked inquisitively at Jacob, hoping for some return following his sincere confession. However**,** Jacob kept his eyes on the sheets of papers that he now seemed to have a hard time sorting out. He muttered unexpectedly after a stretch of silence:

„I don't like to talk about it..."

For the millionth time in his life, Jed didn't listen to his intuition telling him to let it go and change the subject, or just shut up until something else popped into his mind.

„I would just like to know how they were... I mean I can understand that it must've been hard for you and your sister but if it's too much for you to –„

„How do you know my parents are dead?" Jacob had dropped the pile of papers onto his desk and was staring daggers at Jed . The latter had a thought that it would be safer to just cut his tongue out if he wanted to leave the rest of his life in peace.

„I-I read it in one of your assignments for life-skils, I didn't know you'd mind... By the way, you wrote some seriously good stuff in there, man..."

Jacob was staring incredulously at him, then spoke slowly in an exasperated tone:

„You went through my notes? ... I thought I made it clear that you are not to touch any of my stuff? Especially without asking me about it! What does it take to get through to you?"

They were interrupted by the door opening without a knock and Officer Doherty speaking from the doorstep, with his usual blank face:

„Hey Black, Mr. Crowley expects you by his office."

„I'll drop by as soon as I can" Jacob answered unfazed, and Jed was taken aback by the coolness of his reply. If it were him who was called, he'd jump to his feet in the next second and head to Crowley's office, not wanting to make him wait and get into trouble.

Instead, as soon as the door was shut, Jacob picked up a full box and announced to Jed on his way out:

„I'm gonna take these to the library and hit the gym before dinner".

He made no mention of the warden, his parents or anything else.

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_Paytah = __Native American Sioux name meaning "fire"_


	4. Chapter 4

_I don't own any Twilight characters (a life-size Jacob would do just fine thx), I wasn't that lucky :P But I take pride in my awesome betas, __**Willow2883 **__and __**Pooks79 **__and my many shy readers out there ;)_

**CHAPTER 4**

The next day, Jacob woke up in a lighter mood. He even promised Jed that after school, he'd take him to the yard and teach him how to throw some hoops.

After lunch, Jed was so excited at the prospect of receiving his first lesson in basketball from Jacob, that he couldn't stay still until Jacob finished lacing up his sneakers. That's why Jacob sent him ahead to get a basketball from the office and told him to wait downstairs.

A few minutes later, when Jacobwas coming down the stairs, he saw Jed standing empty-handed, staring at something down the left corridor. There were other kids doing the same, and in the following moments, Jacob registered the ominous murmur of voices, and the unsettling interest that drew people into the direction of Jed's stare.

When he got to the foot of the stairs, he stood next to Jed, and got a look at the sight that showed something bad had happened. There was a cluster of people around the door of a room, all wearing worried or curious faces. Two kids sat with their backs to the wall facing the room, crying and staring in utter shock. He understood when he saw two paramedics wheeling out a seemingly lifeless body on a stretcher.

Before Jacob could open his mouth to ask, Jed shared what little information he had:

„A kid they called Marley died. They found him in his room after lunch. I heard he overdosed on drugs..." Jed uttered the last part in a whisper, looking up at Jacob.

He felt an invisible heavy curtain fall over him. It blocked his vision and made his lungs feel devoid of air. He gripped the cold iron railing for support and clenched his eyes shut for a long second, trying to regain control of himself.

„But where did the drugs come from? They check every damn hole in your body when you get here ..."

Jed, bewildered, turned to Jacob, but only got a glimpse of his back as he was rushing up the stairs.

Jacob went back to his room, hoping that if he stayed away from the whispering questions and comments, it would ease the constricted feeling in his chest and help him get a hold of himself. However, once the door shut behind him, the silence in the room turned deafening. He kept hearing the same questions and remarks all together now, mixed with some of his own.

All the muscles in his body felt limp and he could do nothing other than sit on the edge of his bed. He rested his _head_ in his hands, his _elbows propped_on his_knees and his __breath coming in ragged_ rasps_._

He had never felt so much remorse. Not even when the 64-year old shop-owner lay at the base of the long flight of stairs. Not when the ambulance took him to the hospital, or even when he was told that the man had fallen into a deep coma. Jacob had felt truly sorry for the him, but the only thing he could do to somehow put things right did not concern the old man.

Instead, it had everything to do with his sister Rachel. She had been the one to accidentally push the old man down the stairs, when he was about to yank her by her hoodie. Jacob decided to take all the blame onto himself and he didn't even let Rachel argue with him. She was the one who was going to college to become a physician, not him. And he knew he couldn't stand to see her dreams be ruined by an unfortunate accident. Or by the perpetually malignant atmosphere in the place they still called home, or the constant lack of money, or even the fact that they had to shoplift regularly just to have enough to eat. That fateful night almost two years ago could have turned out much worse than it did. But at least nobody died...

Jacob didn't know how long he'd been sitting in the same position. He vaguely heard the sound of the door and Jed approaching, then saw him sitting on his own bed, facing him.

„Did you know that kid Marley?" Jed asked cautiously, wanting to understand why this sad event was affecting Jacob to such extent. He had never seen him this stricken in the short time since he had met him. He couldn't understand why he would care so much about a kid he never even mentioned.

As expected, Jacob didn't reply, he didn't even move a muscle. It was hard to tell if he was even still breathing.

Jed felt himself growing increasingly nervous; he knew what happened when he was under pressure. He would flap his mouth, saying something stupid and he had a very strong feeling that Jacob's temper would not handle that right now.

„So I guess no basketball today, huh? Do you want to just hang out in the yard till dinner?" Jed mumbled in a very uncharacteristic faint voice. He got the feeling that he should've just kept quiet, right after he spoke.

This coaxed a reaction from Jacob, but not the one that Jed expected. Jacob stood up and walked out of the room, without a single word or glance at him.

The long hours that Jacob spent sitting on a bench in the back of the chapel room managed to help him clear his mind and stabilize his shaken nerves. He didn't go there to pray, simply because he didn't believe anyone listened. It was only the second time he'd stepped into the chapel, the first being the day he found out that his mother had died.

He was there this time because he needed the silence, the serenity that only this place held. He needed to make a decision.

He would have stayed there overnight, but since the option was not available, he returned to his room right before lights out time. He didn't exchange a word with Jed when he returned. He knew what he had to do and it was not Jed that he needed to discuss it with.

At 10:02 am, Jacob was knocking on the door of warden Crowley's office. After he heard the warden calling him in, he stepped into the office, wearing a stark expression.

„Black! Took you a while to get here..."

Jacob knew the fake smile on Crowley's face all too well, and he didn't feel at all compelled to reciprocate it. He planted himself in front of the warden's desksince he didn't expect to be invited to sit. Crowley never asked kids to take a seat in his office.

"I took my GED exam this week."

„You did?" The warden's counterfeit interest made it clear to Jacob that he was stalling for something bigger this time.

"How did it go? Do you need some help with –„

„I don't, I'll pass it. I studied."

„That's something I don't hear very often..." Crowley seemed to be thrown off balance for a moment by the hostile undertone in Jacob's reply, but with the adroitness that came from vast experience, he reverted unperturbed to his businesslike manner.

„You probably have an idea of why I called you here."

„Same as you think you know why I came here." Jacob promptly countered, looking Crowley straight in the eyes and distracting him from his speech plan.

„Do I?... Black, is there something you want to talk to me about?"

Jacob waited no more than two seconds, then he drew a sharp breath and blurted out the words, struggling to keep his voice down:

„I'm not going on pickups anymore. I'm done with it."

The slits Crowley had for eyes opened up to an unprecedented size. He was now visibly straining to keep the amiable facade.

„What's wrong. Black? You seemed to be fine with it last time, and I don't remember anything going awry. In fact, it never did. I always make sure that it doesn't. None of you can complain, now can you?

The warden took a few seconds to assess Jacob's defiant silence, then the light bulb went on in his head:

„Don't tell me it's the junkie kid who died yesterday..." The warden's sardonic laughter left Jacob dumbfounded.

„Black, Black... you really are more naive than I thought. You really believe he would've had it any different outside? On the streets he'd have been beaten and raped so many times that he'd have wished to die. Black, it's not my fault or yours. I know kids like that, they're all the same..."

Crowley waved his hand dismissively to show his boredom with the subject and Jacob felt the bile rise in his throat at the sight of this man's stupefying cynicism. Everything about him: his looks, his way of speaking and looking at people, probably his character too, drew a parallel in Jacob's mind to the pig Napoleon, from the 'Animal Farm' movie he'd seen when he was little.

„Listen Black, I called you here for a different reason.„ The warden changed the subject with a purposeful sneer.

„And as I see, one that is quite welcome in this state of things... You know that I appreciate you and your skills, and I can trust you to handle some of the most delicate tasks in hand, don't you?"

Jacob continued to stare at the warden as if he had grown two more heads. But he didn't seem at all bothered and continued:

„I think it's time for you to step into the big boys' league. No more pack-picking, you didn't like it anyway. It's time to make you a scout. Time for you to join my top crew." Now the warden was half grinning in titillation at his own announcement. Seeing that Jacob's expression was gaining in edginess instead of softening, Crowley continued with some clarifications:

„They are guys who know their job very well and they'll teach you everything you need to know. I've no worries that you'll excel in no time - you're a fast learner. Now, there aren't that many spots around here, so there might be some travelling involved. But, as you know well, I'm a man of details. Everything will be taken care of in advance. You don't have to worry about a thing. Just take the offerand enjoy yourself..."

Jacob was in utter disbelief. He expected the warden to not be happy at his request, but he certainly didn't expect him to just swat it away like a fly. And then come forth with such an outlandish proposition. Jacob had heard a pick-up 'colleague' talk about something of the kind, but he didn't believe it to be more than rich imagination. Now that what he'd heard Crowley say sounded strikingly a lot like it, he got the feeling that the bottom of the shithole couldn't be reached even with the longest pole.

„You are asking me to raid people's properties and steal their goods, and you call it fun? I don't get it. After what I just said... why don't you ask Leon or Diego or any of the guys they string along, to do this for you? I'm sure they'd be more than glad. Why me?"

The warden burst into loud laughter.

„Are you kidding me? Those hoodlums would rob me blind!... Look, there's no need to overreact here. You know how some rich people stack on useless things they don't need just because they can afford them? And they won't be at home, so no trouble with them. You know that my timing is always impeccable."

„Is that what you wanted to talk to me about?

„Yes, but whatever questions you might have, feel free to –"

„No, it's time that you listen to me." Jacob leaned forward placing both hands on the desk, coming close enough to the warden so that he could actually see the expression in his small eyesas he talked to him.

„I've done your dirty work too many times already and only because you told me each time that you'll step in at my next hearings to get my time cut down. It's been almost two years and I'm still here. Can you blame me for not buying that bullshit anymore? I'm thinking instead, that you actually did your best to make sure that I stayed here as long as possible, for your own profit. And if you seriously considered me taking you up on your proposition, how about that new kid you put in my room? He's on my trail like a hound dog at all times! How do you see that even working?"

By this point, all traces of courtesy had been wiped from Crowley's face. To hide his escalating irritation, he opened the redwood box lying on his desk and took out a cigar. He sniffed along it for a couple of contemplative seconds, then he lit it up without asking for permission.

„Now Black, it's not the time to get all brazen with me. I have no idea what you're talking about there... as for the boy, your new roommate, I'm sure he won't give you any grief... Hell, he didn't even have a clue about what this place was, until Gonzalez knocked him around a bit. He was the best match I could pick for you out of the batch, and his mother asked me for a favor...But I'm sure he'll stay in his place, you needn't worry".

Before he spoke next, Crowley's gaze suddenly sharpened, and although his voice kept the same even tone, Jacob knew he was getting a preview of the lack of scruples that made up the foundation of this man's character.

„You have six more months here, Black. This can be the easiest time of your stay here. You can use it to make sure that you get a good start to your grown-up life, with some nice numbers in your account. Or you could buy yourself a ticket to Walla Walla, and spend all that time regreting not putting more thought into your choice. It's your call, Black... Choices and priorities, that's what being a grownup is all about."

The ruthless grin that Crowley used to conclude his speech, left Jacob with no doubt that the man in front of him, was a first-class jerk. The shift from bribing to threatening had been made and Jacob knew there wasn't any going back now. He was paralyzed with repulsion, staring holes into the warden's head. But the man didn't seem the least bit intimidated.

„You don't have to give me an answer right now. I'll let you sleep on it. Say... till next Friday."

As if remembering something , the warden lowered his eyes onto the agenda in front of him.

„Next week looks kind of busy. Starting Monday we're having Social Work students come here for their practice, then the ISDE on Tuesday and the IDJC on Thursday. However, to show you how much I trust and value you, you're going to be in the front line on all occasions. Are we clear, Black?

„Yes, sir" Jacob answered lowly through gritted teeth.

„Alright then, see you next week."

It took Jacob the rest of the day to calm his nerves and think of something other than wanting to set the warden ablaze with his own cigars.

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ISDE = Idaho State Department of Education

IDJC = Idaho Department of Juvenile Corrections


	5. Chapter 5

_Ok, so first of all, many thanks to all my lovely readers, who put my story on alert (even though most of them are too shy to drop me even a tiny review ;)). _

_I have an announcement that (I guess) will make most of you happy: starting from this chapter BELLA IS IN THE HOUSE and she's here to stay :D That's why I thank you all for sticking with me so far, if you have._

_I guess it's important that I mention that for this chapter (and a few of the ones to follow, as well0, I've been greatly inspired by a wonderful Romanian (indie) movie named „If I want to whistle, I whistle". If you ever get the chance, I recommend watching it (regardless of whether you like what happens in my fic or not )_

_As always, huge thanks to my precious betas __**Pooks79**__ and __**Willow2883**__ for making sense of yet another chapter of my fic. _

_And as usual, I don't own Twilight, none of its characters or the money and fame that the books brought Stephenie Meyers :p_

**CHAPTER 5**

The weekend went by slowly, and the sunny weather had no effect in dispelling the thick grey clouds that weighed on Jacob's mind. He felt sick at the thought of giving in to Crowley's plans again, and becoming a pawn in his criminal scheme. He regretted countless times having done that in the beginning, when he was ignorant and weak. Now he was feeling truly trapped. More than he ever had in the last two years.

The only thing that could possibly help him would be hearing his sister's voice, and knowing that at least she was well. He hadn't seen her in more than three months. The last two monthly visits, Sue Clearwater had replaced her.

Both times, Sue had tried to appease him by explaining that Rachel couldn't take leave from work. She was trying hard to save up enough money to start college in the fall, and Jacob didn't doubt that. He knew that Rachel still cared about him, he could hear it in her voice whenever they talked on the phone. Lately, however, _that_ was becoming a rare occurence, and it seemed to be getting harder and harder to reach her at all. Either no one answered the phone when he called, or he got Craig - who told him drunkenly that Rachel was not in.

Jacob had been calling home every evening for the past three days, and nobody picked up the phone. He was starting to get seriously worried.

Sunday evening, after another unsuccessful attempt at reaching his sister, he called the Clearwaters' residence. Sue answered the phone, but her voice and the way she spoke only amplified the feelings of anxiety that were threatening to take him over.

Sue sounded troubled and very tired. Jacob didn't have time to inquire into the reasons behind that, and Sue didn't seem willing to talk about it on the phone. However, the good news was that Sue was planning to visit him the following week. He asked if his sister was coming along this time, but all he got from Sue was that she had talked to Rachel three days before, and expected her to call back and confirm that Wednesday was fine with her too. She hadn't called so far, and at this point Sue became strangely vague. Jacob didn't have time to press further because of the line behind him and the guards becoming annoyingly persistent. So with a quick „see you Wednesday, bye", he got off the phone.

In the last few years, Sue had become like a second mother to him and his sisters, and they heldthe greatest degree of respect and appreciation for her. He knew it couldn't have been easy for her to handle a job, a household _and_ two teenagers all by herself after her husband, Harry, passed away. But Sue Clearwater proved herself capable of doing that and more - all with commendable grace and kindness.

She had accompanied Rachel in almost all of her monthly visits to Twin Groves. Jacob was sure that she could have made better use of the money that she'd spent on those trips.

He hadn't directly expressed any of the gratitude he felt towards Sue, but he hoped that he could offer her support in the same way she had done for him. Whatever it was that upset her, he would find a way to provide her the help she needed**.**

Jacob saw Sue's, and hopefully Rachel's, visit as a break through the clouds. After his confrontation with the warden, it was a much needed ray of light in the darkness.

Monday morning inevitably arrived, finding Jacob nowhere near elated at the prospect of _a ‚busy week',_ to use Warden Crowley's words.

A couple of hours after their early breakfast, Jacob and a few of his inmates were called from their rooms by Officer Doherty. They were escorted to the classroom wing where they were to meet the students who had chosen Twin Groves for their practice week. Jacob had already been through this the previous year. It had been boring as hell, so he was definitely not looking forward to it. This time, he was thinking of saying or writing something preposterous to the students and their teacher, just to shake things up and watch them fry their brains, trying to find professional ways of handling it.

He was included in the group that Crowley had hand-picked to represent his pride and joy. Some of the kids he knew well, others not so much. But what they all had in common was that they'd been at Twin Groves for at least six months, and none of them had ever stirred up trouble in that time... not inside the juvie, anyway. No wonder Leon, Diego and the rest of their posse were remarkably absent.

The inmates were thrilled at the mere thought of being in the same room with girls - college girls – something many of them had never seen before. Their excitement was like kids going to a circus show, but far from innocent.

Jacob, however, did not share their enthusiasm. He considered the whole idea pathetic. These poor bastards barely containing their drool in front of some uppity, ignorant girls, who'd only read or watched shows on tv about the rougher side of life. Now they were coming here to tell them in their most sugary voices that they _'wanted to help them cope with their issues, and learn to better deal with their struggles'_… They probably regarded them as nothing more than clad chimps. Jacob would have preferred an extended stay in the shoebox rather than witness their exchange of hypocritical vs. stupid smiles. He was looking forward to participating in it even less. He didn't make the slightest effort to hide the contempt that showed not only on his face, but in his listless gait, as well.

When he got to an empty desk, he noisily pulled the chair away, flopping down on it. He threw a fewdirty looks at the guys gawking at him and making snide comments about him being there. Jacob rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands, thinking to himself _'l__ets just get this shit over__and done with__...'_.

A couple of minutes later, a group of students entered the room, led by their professor. As expected, girls were the majority in the group. There were only three guys, so his inmates were not disappointed.

Jacob quickly assessed the girls, now flocking in front of the teacher's desk, getting the forms and pens that they would need. Some were prettier than others, and while waiting, most of them were discreetly chattering and sneaking looks at the interviewees. As they got their materials and went to sit down at a desk, the group started thinning up.

A petite girl came into view and for some reason, she captured Jacob's attention instantly. He couldn't tell if it was the contrast between her hesitant movements and pensive air alongside her companion's contained excitement. Or it may have been the difference in her clothing style. The other girls wore smart outfits and an abundance of accessories, while she was simply dressed in a casual, understated style.

All Jacob knew is that he liked studying the way she was clutching her clipboard to her chest – it made her seem even smaller and much younger than she was. Actually, it brought to mind the image of a little girl, holding her teddybear tightly in her arms, and it made him repress a smile at the thought. This was definitely no place for a little girl and her teddybear.

As if hearing his thoughts, the girl slowly lifted her eyes and moved them in the direction of the desks, paying particular attention to the ones that weren't occupied by her colleagues. She quickly passed from one to the other and when her eyes met Jacob's, he couldn't help the need to look down, as if he'd been caught spying on her changing in the locker room.

But in the next second he heard his inner voice scolding him: _What the hell man? You're not 14 anymore!_ And he looked back at her, but she had turned her attention to the form on top of her clipboard and was nodding to instructions given by her professor.

She eventually walked away from the teacher's desk, still clutching the clipboard to her chest. As she hesitantly approached the desks, Jacob noticed that her footsteps were so light that she barely seemed to touch the ground. She was staring at the floor in front of her, so Jacob was sure that she would pass his desk.

She was a few feet away from him when she finally lifted her eyes and smiled uneasily. It was only when she extended her hand to introduce herself to him, that Jacob processed the fact that she had stopped at his desk and chosen him as her subject. He instantaneously stood up and shook her hand a bit more abruptly than he would have normally. This made the girl suddenly aware of the onefoot height difference between them, and for a short moment, the distraction threatened to throw her off balance. She quickly regained her timid smile, and as they both sat down, she introduced herself first:

„Hi, my name is Isabella. I study social welfare at WSU and I'm here in training this week. I will be assisting you in completing the quiz part of our study. " She spoke in her warm alto voice, while placing the papers of the quiz in front of him.

„Jacob...my name is Jacob. Nice to meet you, too," he replied while trying to keep the friendliest smile he was capable of. It felt like sort of a challenge, as he hadn't felt compelled to smile in quite a long time.

To Jacob's dismay**, **Isabella didn't seem to take notice; her eyes were focused on the papers again as she proceeded to provide further details about the quiz:

„You will have to fill in your personal data, then fill in the blanks there, and complete those sentences with what you consider most appropriate. If you have any questions, I'm here to help."

„Uh-huh" Jacob nodded. He realized he should probably start looking at the quiz, as he'd been studying only her face during the explanation. She had given him only quick glances since she'd sat next to him at the table, and Jacob felt that he needed to take a better look at her eyes. There was something he couldn't put his finger on, something very familiar about Isabella's eyes, or face, or maybe it was her stature, and he needed to find out what it was while she was still there.

He tried to concentrate on the quiz, but he just couldn't make sense of even the simplest phrase he read. Instead, he shot out a look of sheer curiosity to her and asked:

„And what do we do after the quiz?"

„We will analyse your replies and then proceed with a recorded interview." Bella informed him in her professional tone of voice.

„Right..." Jacob nodded, but he still couldn't focus on the paper. The words seemed to dance in front of his eyes.

„Will you be interviewing me?" he asked, trying to catch her gaze again.

„Yes."

„So you will read my quiz?"

„Probably, yes," Bella replied with a small hesitation. She didn't understand what difference itmade, but she didn't dwell on it.

„Do you have any questions about the quiz?" Bella asked, trying to bring his attention back to the form.

Jacob reluctantly lowered his eyes to the paper and skimmed through it, trying to find something interesting. A couple of seconds later, he smiled shortly and read out to her :

„_Something I like to do... _You want to know what I like to do?" he asked, seemingly amused.

„Um, yes. But you have to write it down there, on the form."

„Yeah, but do _you_ want to know what I like?" Jacob asked more seriously this time.

_Oh no_... Bella didn't like the sound of this. She also felt a bit disappointed, because she'd picked him precisely because he was the only one in the room who didn't smirk at her when she came in. The others had looked at her as if she was the one girl sitting at a sleazy bar, or they were imagining cooking different parts of her body and serving them well-seasoned with herbs de provence. Now it looked like she would have to hear God knows what sick fantasy this guy felt like he should share with her.

_Well, darn it, it's all part of the learning experience anyway,_ she thought, and automatically responded „Yes."

„So then ask me." Jacob said with the hint of a smile.

„What do you like to do?" Bella asked, trying to disguise the dread of what she would hear next with a cordial tone.

Jacob looked her deep in the eyes, and taking in her anxious expression, he spoke with no hurry:

„I like very much...to eat pancakes... with blueberry jam." He couldn't help smiling at the flash of relief on her face.

„They're good..." she commented mostly to herself, not looking at him.

„Do you have any more questions?" she asked, pointing to the form.

„Yes, what do _you_ like most?" Jacob asked without hesitation. Bella sighed.

„I meant questions about the quiz. I'm here to help you fill it out and you haven't written anything yet."

„Just this one question and then I'll get on with the quiz."

Bella sighed again.

„Ok...Um...I like...uh... dark chocolate." She remembered the one thing she'd been craving since morning. Jacob nodded appreciatively.

„Do you have a middle name?"

„You said only one question," a slightly indignant Bella objected.

„I lied," Jacob admitted flatly. „Come on, talking to you is more interesting than doing this quiz. Why can't we just talk for a little while?" he pleaded.

_Because I don't know you, and I'm not supposed to?_

„Because..." Bella looked over her shoulder to the desk where her teacher was sitting and reading. „I have to help others with the quiz too... and it's late already."

„You just got here. It's not late, and you said you'll be here all week. Why don't you want to talk to me?" Jacob calmly inquired, resolutely trying to hold her gaze.

Bella blinked nervously a few times, opening her mouth as if trying to say something, but then changed her mind.

„I... I just can't." She smiled apologetically and lifted her eyes to meet his. It waswith visible difficulty, but lasted for no longer than a second.

„I'll be in the room if you need help with the quiz... or my teacher can assist you as well" she added, slowly getting up from the chair.

Jacob noticed that's how she did everything - slowly and carefully – as if not wanting to bother anyone at all times. She didn't. That's what people like him were there for, Jacob thought to himself. He let out a defeated rush of breath while returning his attention to the papers in front of him.

Fifteen minutes later, Jacob had gone through almost all the points of the quiz, even enjoying some of them. He was starting to get bored though, so he decided he could take a break. He looked to the desk where Bella was now sitting, and observed her discreetly from the distance.

She was definitely insecure, no matter how much she tried to conceal it, Jacob concluded. It showed in her gestures and mannerisms: her shy smile, the way she kept her eyes more on the table than on the person in front of her, the reflex of tucking rebel strands of her long, chestnut hair behind her ear. They always fell right back to where they were before, anyway.

While he watched her stand up from the table and walk to the teacher's desk, he remembered something. When she turned her face in his general direction, he quietly called her name and raised his right hand to catch her attention. Naturally, she noticed – it would have been impossible not to, given his size – and she warily walked to his desk.

„Please sit down, there's something I want to ask you," he told her motioning to the quiz form and pulling the free chair closer to his. Bella complied and she was now sitting by his side, her arm almost touching his.

Both his elbows were on the table, his back hunched so that he could lower his head in order to concentrate better on something written on the papers. At least that's what Bella supposed. She understood what the real reason was - to be closer to her ear - as soon as he started whispering:

„Isabella is a very pretty name, but it's kind of too serious. I mean, people at home call me Jake mostly. Don't you have like a nickname, or a middle name? You didn't answer me that... "

Bella shook her head in disbelief, but not wanting to waste any more time she replied in one breath:

„Ok, my middle name is Marie and I'm usually called Bella, and that's enough questions from you for today."

She looked at him and planned to nod a quick and polite goodbye before taking off, but the intensity of his gaze kept her in place. It took her a few moments to realize that she was not behaving the way she should, nor the way she'd have wanted to.

This was not ok, she thought. She didn't feel awkward, she felt downright intimidated by him and she was sure it had nothing to do with his stature. No, she didn't feel creeped out. As a matter of fact, against her better judgment, and all protocol, she wanted to stay right there a little while more... But she knew she couldn't...

Trying to tone down the tremors in her arms that were threatening to disclose her nervousness, she got up, gathered her clipboard and pushed the chair back under the table. She didn't know what made her feel the need to say something to explain herself, but as soon as the words came out, she regretted it:

„I... I can't stay... I have to go." It was all she could come up with, and she internally cursed her shaky voice for being such a traitor.

„See you around," Jacob replied with an immobile face.


	6. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER 6**

Following Monday's events, the week suddenly became interesting to Jacob. The interest was solely and entirely related to his interviewer - the student with beautiful, innocent, chocolate-brown eyes. Jacob never truly grasped the meaning of the expression 'doe eyes'. He could define the glances he remembered receiving from girls as ‚curious', ‚playful', ‚inviting' or even ‚feline', but not doe-like. He didn't really understand how a ruminant mammal's eyes could inspire. But since Monday, the term ‚doe eyed' seemed to be making a lot more sense...

Jacob hoped that he would see Bella again. He knew that nothing would probably come of it, and a reasonable part of his brain told him that he was as much of a chump as the inmates he'd scorned for precisely similar reasons... But he could afford one guilty pleasure - he was only human after all.

The next morning before heading to breakfast, Jacob and Jed were informed by Officer Doherty that they were expected to be out in the yard in one hour. To Jacob's disappointment, it wasn't for the student's practice this time. It had something to do with officials from the ISDE and reporters who wanted to include them in a tv documentary, or something of the kind.

By 10 a.m., a few officers led by Doherty had managed to arrange the large numbers of kids present in the yard into rows. They were chattering or bored, all the while trying not to break formation until the expected guests made their appearance.

In agreement with Crowley's orders, Jacob wasplaced in the front row, with the added surprise of sharing the line with Leon, Diego and a few of their friends that Jacob had never bothered to remember the names of.

He internally cursed Warden Crowley for the umpteenth time in the last few days. Then he saw some movement out of the corner of his eye and his previous thoughts instantly slipped from his mind.

On the other side of the chain link fence, he caught sight of the group of students and their silver-haired professor slowly progressing towards the entry. His vision sharpened and he singled out the only person that he wanted to see from the group. She looked so tiny and so fragile, not only in comparison to him, but next to some of the other girls in her group as well.

The group was received by two guardians and Jacob's vision was obstructed for a few minutes while they were questioning the professor. They deliberated between the two of them, then motioned to officer Doherty to come their way. Bella was no longer in his line of sight and Jacob couldn't believe the anxiety prickling him at the possibility that the tv people would show up and he would miss seeing Bella again by just a hair.

Luckily, the guests took their time. Between receiving instructions from Doherty and confirming the guests to their list, the guardians seemed to be at a loss as to what to do with Bella's group. Eventually, Officer Doherty ordered them to let the group in and sent one of the guardians running to the warden's office.

Jacob thought this was a great decision. He would have even thanked Doherty for it, as it allowed the group to advance to only a few yards from Jacob's right side. Even with the chain link fence separating them, he now had Bella in full view and he wasn't taking his eyes off her.

He just couldn't stop looking at her. In the morning sunlight, she looked even more charming than he remembered. Her long hair was cascading down her shoulders and the sun brought up the auburn tinges in it. She was wearing unpretentious clothes again. The cross bag with colorful ethnic stripes and motifs was her only accessory that caught the eye.

It had been her mother 's and Bella hated it at first. But now she wore it because it was comfortable, and it reminded her of her quirky mom.

To Jacob, however, Bella's lavender shirt, black jacket, and especially her light grey skinny jeans seemed perfectly fitting. Her most striking feature though was her porcelain complexion. That, together with her tame and contemplative stance, reminded Jacob of a beautiful, precious china doll. One that was clutching her clipboard to her chest as if someone wanted to steal it from her.

Just like before, she seemed heedless of the humming and fussing of her impatient colleagues. Even of the snickers and chirping that came with increasing loudness from the other side of the fence. If Jacob weren't frozen in place, he would have given in to the urge to smack some common sense into the few that were behaving like pea-brained cavemen in his vicinity. But he was too busy staring at the way she looked, so lost in her own thoughts.

Unlike for most of his inmates, the term _girl _was not a mere synonym for some particular female body parts. He was sure that if he ever started seeing things in that light, his sisters wouldn't spare as much as an abhorring look in his direction for the rest of his life.

Meanwhile, the guardian returned with a handful of, what seemed to be, access tags. He was fumbling with them and the list, while the impatient students reared their heads in his direction. Bella took one small step forward and leisurely lifted her eyes to the guardian with the tags. She then shifted her gaze a little to the left until it met Jacob's. This time he didn't chicken out. He didn't avert his eyes - he just forgot to breath for the next few seconds.

She was looking right back at him. She didn't look creeped-out like he feared she might. She just gazed at him in a wondering, absorbing way. Jacob's intuition kept nudging him, telling him to try to at least smile, and not let the moment turn even weirder than it already was. But he couldn't seem to move a muscle. He stood completely still; dumbstruck. He reflected her enraptured gaze like a mirror.

He had no idea how long the silent exchange between them lasted. He snapped out of the daze at the sound of a loud cackle, possibly by one of Leon's boys. One of the girls in Bella's group spat out an angry „jerk!". Only then did the thought that someone might have noticed them, processed. His head swiveled around a little too fast and wide-eyed not to atract attention. Immediately, he saw Leon's arrogant smirk and lizard-eyes, and knew that Leon had watched everything with poignant interest.

In the next second, he heard Leon's annoying voice, that he knew all too well:

"Hey, sweetie!... Hey, brown curls!"

Bella seemed to understand that she was the recipient of Leon's attention. She immediately looked down, blinking nervously, hoping that the rude guy would just grow tired and give up.

„Yeah, you with the hippie bag! Come a lil' closer, I wanna tell you something."

Jacob felt the tingles of anger spread from head to toe. It focused in his fists, that suddenly felt a magnetic pull towards Leon. It threatened to connect to his face violently at any moment.

Bella looked at Leon, then quickly turned her eyes to Jacob, as if asking him to help her out. He was fixating on her resolutely, encouraging her to not act intimidated.

„Aww, you're shy... Aren't you a cutie..."

„I swear I'll break your fucking neck if you don't shut up." Jacob's voice came out a growl, but it was low enough to be heard only by Leon. Jacob didn't even turn his way when he spoke - he was sure that one look at Leon's smartass face would set him off.

„What's up, Black? Going territorial on me again? She's your bitch just as much as she's mine in here. Sweet dreams!" Leon blew a nauseating kiss to Bella as the group went in motion across the yard. Jacob was blind with fury, grinding his teeth.

„You piece of shit. You have no idea how lucky you are that this place is sprinkled with guards..."

Their conversation was cut short by Doherty shouting at the top of his lungs at everybody to get back in line and keep quiet.

Jacob didn't see Bella again that day, but their short moment kept replaying itself in his mind over and over again, especially when he got in bed and closed his eyes, trying to get some much-needed sleep. Those precious seconds became the highlight of his week, his month, maybe even his entire year!

But the god of irony just _had_ to have his fun with him, and put Leon in his way to ruin it... At least Jacob still had one chance of being close to Bella without Leon showing up to get in the way. Plus, he had tomorrow to look forward to, when he would get to see Sue, and hopefully Rachel too.

The days seemed to go by faster than usual that week and Wednesday rolled in fairly quickly. The impatient waiting didn't last long and an hour or so after breakfast, Jacob was called from his room and escorted to the visiting area.

He didn't remember the last time he had been so glad to see Officer Doherty's bored face. He felt like running the distance there instead of walking orderly by Doherty's side. However, his excitement dwindled the moment he stepped into the room and met eyes with Sue... waiting for him at the table... alone.

He felt the sharp pang of disappointment at the realization that he wouldn't be seeing his sister Rachel this time either. It was the third time now and Jacob couldn't shake the suspicion that something more serious was going on at home.

It wasn't fair to Sue, who'd sacrificed her time and money to take this exhausting trip just to see him. He tried his best to ward off the negative feelings in the few steps towards Sue's table and hugged her with a warm smile.

After they exchanged the usual opening questions about how they've been since their last encounter, Jacob couldn't help asking why Rachel couldn't come again. Sue had given him brief answers even prior to this, but at hearing his question, her features dropped, unveiling the deep concern within. The same concern that Jacob had perceived on their phone talk a few days before.

"Jake...I'm afraid I have some bad news for you... Or, maybe not that bad, or... I don't even know..." Sue shook her head nervously and wiped some invisible tears from her cheek.

„Your step-father," Sue stopped and corrected herself. „Craig is dead". 

Jacob was now starting to understand one of the possible reasons for Sue's distress. But as for himself, he couldn't say he was afflicted, or even sorry to hear the news. He had wished Craig out of their lives innumerable times. Maybe not exactly dead, just as far away from them as possible Even if it meant he was heartless, he couldn't deny the feeling of having a burden lifted from his shoulders. A bit too late in the scheme of things, but still...

"What happened to him?"

"Uh... he was found dead by the docks. Some animal attack it seems, though nobody heard or saw police are still investigating. I was called in to identify him. Jake, I've never seen anything like that in my life, it was horrible..."

Jacob held Sue's hands over the table in sympathy for her state of distress, but there was still one unanswered question that was gnawing at him:

"Is Rachel ok? Where is she?"

Jacob would have liked nothing more than a simple, short answer, such as _she's fine, _but he had no such luck. Sue's preoccupied silence and eyes lowered onto the table made his insides churn.

"We don't know where she is. I hadn't heard from her since Thursday, so I stopped by your house Monday morning, before they found Craig... Nobody was there. The front door was cracked open and the place was turned upside down. It didn't look like anything was stolen. There were messages on the phone for her. She had missed three days of work and they were calling to see what happened."

This was even worse than what Jacob thought he'd hear. He had been worried that Rachel was over-working herself, but this was a whole lot worse. His gut clenched and his head was spinning. Until he could gather his wits to think of what he needed to do or say next, he asked mindlessly:

„Are you safe?"

„Charlie Swan has been of great help these days. With all the investigations he's running, he still took the trouble to find Craig's relatives and arrange the funeral. He said I could call him for anything."

Jacob noticed what looked like a glimmer of hope in Sue's eyes, but he wasn't in the state of mind to delve into the matter. It didn't matter much, because in the next moment, it was replaced by a look of apprehension on Sue's face.

„Maybe I should ask him to talk to Seth and try to bring some sense into him."

„Why? What's wrong with Seth?"

"He's been acting very strange... nothing like him. You know Seth, he's always been a good boy... Well, two weeks ago he went missing from home for three days and three nights in a row and came back before dawn, all dirty and exhausted , wearing only tattered shorts. He could see I was dead with worry but he couldn't give me any explanation. He still gets out of the house every other night and comes back in the morning. He's missed school because he's too tired and he refuses to talk to me about it. He just tells me not to worry about him 'cause he'll be fine... But how can I not worry about him, Jake? He's only 16 and I have no idea what he's gotten himself into. Leah is in Seattle, she's too busy with her job and I feel like I have my hands tied with this. I don't know what I should do to help him."

Sue's speech broke off into shaking sobs and tears. All Jacob could do was clutch Sue's hands tighter and murmur gentle, soothing words that didn't hold any real meaning. He went quiet for a few moments, then he returned his eyes on Sue, his voice and gaze conveying sheer determination:

"I will come home to find Rachel and help Seth out."

"Jake, you still have 6 months to your last hearing. The warden won't –„

"He will hear me out. He has to. You go home and I'll be there soon."

"How are you going to do that? Jake, please don't get into trouble."

"Hey, don't worry about me. I can't talk anymore now, but I'll call you when I'm on my way home. You take care, alright?"

With a rushed hug, they said their goodbyes and Jacob walked out of the visiting room with a poised demeanor that was miles away from his excitement upon walking in there.

There were too many lights on today in the small chapel room, or maybe the small led lights set at equal distance along the white walls had always been on and he just never paid attention to them. As he was sitting at his usual bench in the back of the room, he didn't notice much else aside from the fine scratches and scribbles on the strip of wood in between his elbows. Today his mind was reeling and his eyes were skittering, unable to focus on one thing for long.

The lights were meant to mimic rows of candles, the little gothic arch stained glass up front to lessen the sterility of the room.However, the light was artificial - not warm like that of real candles. And the stained glass was not a window to the outside, it only covered the wall and a few spotlights that were meant to bring up its vivid colors.

All of this just reinforced the sinking feeling that Jacob could best describe with one word: captivity. After the many fake promises and procrastination, he could feel nothing but trapped; powerless and going out of his mind with worry at every moment.

The past few hours Jacob kept hearing Warden Crowley's reply to his request, over and over again.

"_A leave? And you want it this week? Black, I thought I made myself clear that I want you here this week. Whatever happened in that dingy rez of yours can surely work itself out without your help."_

„_It's a serious family matter and they need me there... I've never asked you for a favor until now and the only time I got a leave was when my mother died."_

„_Well, I wasn't presented, faxed or e-mailed a death certificate. So until that happens, enjoy the rest of your stay at Twin Groves."_

Having to keep himself in check while hearing Crowley's words and seeing his haughty smile had taken every ounce of Jacob's self control. Struggling to keep his mind on the job, he painstakingly made one more attempt:

„_Please Mr. Crowley... this is very urgent_. _You can even add the days to my time, but please, just allow me this leave."_

„_Did you think about my proposition? Say if I were to let you go... do you have an answer for me? „_

The calculating look on Crowley's face told Jacob exactly where he stood and he felt stupid for not foreseeing this. The warden always had the upper hand and wouldn't let a break slide without cashing in on it.

Jacob hadn't pondered the decision since that day and maybe, subconsciously, he avoided the thought of it altogether.

„_No, not yet..."_

„_Then come see me when you have an answer. You have till Friday if you're still 're dismissed."_

Jacob couldn't stay in the chapel any longer, it didn't seem to help much anyhow. He thought it might be better to join Jed for dinner and listen to his silly banter. He wouldn't even have to say anything since Jed was much better at talking than listening anyways.

He did just that, and to his surprise Jed was very glad to spend time with him. Even though he had been nothing but a ball of nerves these last few days and had mostly treated poor Jed like furniture. It looked like Jed was getting better and better at dealing with grumpiness.

Three hours later, Jacob was still seated at his desk, furiously concentrating on the paper he was working on in front of him. Pieces of paper that he'd already crumpled-up to throw away surrounded his desk.

Jed wandered to his bed with a book he'd taken out of his backpack, curiously sneaking a furtive glance at what Jacob was working so intently on. All he saw was a list of people, places and dates that Jacob had compiled. It made no sense to Jed, so he plopped on his bed to read.

A while later, Jed dozed off with his head on the book, when he heard Jacob calling him. He fixed his glasses back into place and lifted his drowsy gaze. Jacob had turned the chair away from the desk and held an envelope in between his fingers.

„Jed, can you listen to me carefully?"

Jed nodded, throwing his legs over the edge of the bed and directing all his attention to Jacob.

„I want you to take this, and if anything happens to me, you post it to your mother, or to your aunt, or whoever you trust more, and ask them to open it. Inside, they'll find a letter and an address to send it where it needs to go to have an effect. A very solid effect... Do the same if you feel threatened, or if the warden tries to trick you."

Jed took the envelope with something akin to reverence. He had the feeling of holding a holy relic in his hands and that would be a first for him. However, there were things that he didn't quite understand from Jacob's indications:

„Jake, what do you mean if something happens to you?"

„Nothing particular... and it probably won't."

„Are you in some kind of trouble?" The question brought a half-smile to Jacob's face.

„That ship sailed long ago. Let's just say that things are not coming my way lately." Jed processed his reply for a few moment, then it was his turn to grin and chortle in his usual dorky manner.

„Do you know what it means when everything _is_ coming your way? It means that you're in the wrong lane! Bahahaha! "

Jacob wasn't in the mood to join Jed's laughter, but he was surprised again that he couldn't keep back an amused smile. It was just like Jed to bring a joke into even the most grave discussion. Jacob just hoped that Jed wouldn't have to face the humorless ironic side of life anytime in the near future _and_ that he wouldn't have reasons to post the envelope, either.

The next day at breakfast, Officer Doherty came into the cafeteria to inform the inmates who had participated in the first part of the Social Work study, that they were expected to show up for the second half of it. The time was 11 am that day, and he gave them the directions to the classroom in the new school wing.

Jacob listened with all the attention he was capable of. The rush of adrenaline at hearing Officer Doherty's words may have helped him focus. He hadn't seen Bella in two days, but with all that had happened, it had seemed longer than that. For that reason, he'd almost forgotten that there was going to be an interview, possibly a good half hour of talking to Bella and just being close to her. The thought of that was enough of a reason to not hate this day entirely.

However, there was one more unpleasant thing to do, and he needed to take care of it before he would be able to enjoy every minute of Bella's presence.

Jacob walked past the stout guardian standing near the entry in the hallway. He knocked on the door that left him chewing his own anger more often than not.

Warden Crowley answered with a jumpy 'yes!'He was busy trying to get a folder from an upper shelf, looking increasingly frustrated that his height did nothing to help him reach it, without the aid of a chair or a taller person. He stopped for a second to look in the direction of the door:

„Ah, it's you..." , Crowley muttered, slightly annoyed at the interruption. But then his mind clicked, and an unctuous smile spread across his face:

„Could you get that for me? The blue one there..."

Jacob approached the cabinet, reaching his hand and extracting the wanted folder with no apparent effort or care. The warden, not surprisingly, didn't say thanks, since _thanks_ or _please_ didn't seem to fit into his vocabulary. When he started browsing through his folder as if he was alone in the room, Jacob felt compelled to speak uninvited.

"I accept."

„What?" Jacob's last word seemed to manage to draw some attention from the warden.

„I accept your proposition. On one condition – that you give me the leave I asked for."

At hearing Jacob's words, Crowley's eyes and mouth narrowed to thin lines and he answered in his lowest voice:

„I don't bargain, boy, and you should know that by now. I still give you till tomorrow to think about it and if your answer is still yes, we'll discuss the details."

„Will you consider my request?"

„I don't have time for silly kid games now, Black. I'll see you tomorrow." Crowley rounded his desk, not sparing a look in Jacob's direction.

„Is that a no, and is it final?" Jacob bit each word out with steely calm.

„Took you a while to get it. I have a very busy day and I'm already late for a meeting. You know the way out."

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	7. Chapter 7

_It's been awhile, hasn't it? I know and I'm sorry, but I haven't abandoned this story and there are more (hopefully) interesting chapters on the way _

_First of all - quick author's note: my wonderful beta Willow2883 wisely advised me to give a (necessary) __warning about Jacob's behavior in this chapter, which will be, let's say a little out of character in this chapter... it might even strike some of you as outrageous but, well, extreme situations call for...erm, radical measures? At any rate, I assure you that the following chapters will explain and make up for the inappropriateness in this one ;)_

_And the usual disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or any of the characters in it, bla bla bla._

**CHAPTER 7**

A few minutes before eleven Jacob was entering the recently finished school wing. He directed his steps to the classroom where Officer Doherty said the students in social work would meet them for the interviews. It was on ground level and looked new, clean and less austere than the classrooms Jacob was used to seeing. The large windows probably contributed to this, although the thick bars on the outside of them were hard to miss.

As usual, Jacob chose a desk in the back of the room to sit down at. It was partly because he was usually among the tallest in any group, and also because he wanted to have the entire room in sight.

His eyes scanned the room slowly, drifting over the door, the blackboard, the desks and other furniture, then finally the other inmates in the room. Some looked bored, while most looked excited, one looked almost scared.

There was a large mobile blackboard next to Jacob, but from where he was sitting, he could see that it masked an unbarred window. The new wing had been finished in a hurry and this group was probably the first ones to use it. Warden Crowley had hand-picked every inmate in this group and chosen only the ones he trusted. They were all exemplary behaved kids. And even if any of them got ideas, they wouldn't make it halfway to the main gate without being tackled or shot down by the guards.

The bonhomous professor entered the classroom and greeted the inmates. His students followed closely. Jacob felt his pulse accelerate until the moment he saw Bella coming through the doorway. He just couldn't understand how she managed to look more and more beautiful each time he saw her. There wasn't anything obviously different in her appearance, but still... He watched her still as a stone, studying with exaggerated attention her every movement and gesture. He wished she would at least throw him a passing glance.

It was the same routine: students gathered around the teacher's desk, as he distributed forms, and this time tape recorders, to each of them. Some had questions for him and he explained until they seemed satisfied.

Just like the day of their first encounter, while she waiting in line at the teacher's desk, Bella timidly lifted her gaze towards the desks where inmates sat waiting. Her eyes passed gracefully from one to the other, spending just a fraction of a second more on Jacob.

When she finally started walking towards the desks, Jacob's body was as tense as a bow. He couldn't even blink until she was a few feet away from him and looking up to meet his eyes. That moment stretched to infinite proportions in Jacob's perception, making the shock that followed seem as sharp as a blade through his guts. Bella turned to the left and sat down at another inmate's desk.

Jacob had to mentally slap himself to get his bearings: _Get yourself together man! You can't be losing your shit over this! She'll come to you when she's finished with the other. Just be patient..."_

He took a deep breath, closed his eyes and rubbed his temples, working on regaining his composure. Jacob still had his eyes closed when he heard a high-pitched male voice talking from not far away:

„Hi Jacob, my name is Matthew." He had a fake smile, as he stretched his hand out for Jacob to shake it. The following sequence of questions that circulated through Jacob's mind didn't allow for any sort of exterior reaction:

_Why does this dude who looks like a scrawnier main guy from Dawson's Creek with plucked eyebrows and bleached Backstreet Boys hairdo know my name?_ _If he already knows my name what the hell does he expect me to answer back? I'm surely not pleased to meet him and on top of everything, he's fucking taking the seat that should stay free for Bella! _

However, the tape recorder and the sheets of paper with what looked like Jacob's writing, that the guy had brought with him to the table, left no room for doubt.

After three or four seconds of Jacob glaring speechlessly at him, telepathically suggesting he dig himself a hole in the classroom floor, lay down and die there, Matthew gave up the handshake idea and carried on with his mission:

„As top-of-my-class sophomore year at WSU Social Welfare, I was specially assigned to conduct the second part of our study with you. Which, as you probably know, is the interview. It was not only our professor, Mr. Hutchinson, who was impressed by the quality of your writing, but I myself must admit that your quiz is an outstanding piece of work."

Matthew's thick flattery was lost on Jacob as he couldn't give a flying toss about this guy's opinion of the quiz. If what he'd written in there was so fantastic, it was only because Bella had been his inspiration, and he might have tried a little extra harder because he wanted her to have something good to read and discuss with him in the interview. But certainly not because he'd expected to receive praise for it from this snotty, moussed-up shithead.

"I didn't want you to read my quiz," were the first words that Jacob spoke to the student dude. It was in a surprisingly calm tone of voice that completely mismatched the furious look in his eyes.

„Come on Jacob, there's no need to be modest here. It's a matter of equivalent value, you know?"

It was incredible to Jake how this stuck-up prick managed to get on his nerves more and more with every line he delivered. Sure, his conceited smirk added a lot to that, plus the fact that he kept calling Jacob by his first name, although he'd never invited him to. Only a few people were allowed to call him that and this guy was certainly not one of them.

Jacob snatched the papers of his quiz. Getting up from his chair, he took them to the now-empty teacher's desk. However, the Matthew dude was not so easy to shake. He tiptoed after Jacob, which caused the latter to bump into him as he was turning to walk back to his desk. He grabbed the quiz Jacob had just placed on the desk and sighed dramatically:

"We can leave the quiz out if you want to, but the interview will be much more interesting if –„

"_She_ helped me with the quiz, so I want _her_ to do the interview." Jacob interrupted with a clearly irritated tone, motioning his head towards Bella. But nothing seemed to click in Matthew's head; probably because he was unable to see past the end of his own nose.

„I am positively sure I could do a much better job on this interview than her," Matthew countered with a scoff.

He. . Scoffed.

A flash of white lightning blinded Jacob for a split second, and in the next he felt electrifying energy surge back from his muscles. He looked calm as a millpond as he walked back to his desk and sat down. The sight from there was anything but encouraging: the student who had tried to interview him was hunched down, supporting himself with one hand on the teacher's desk. His other hand was holding his stomach, his face scrunched as if in pain.

Some of the other students and inmates sitting nearby had witnessed the scene. They were now staring perplexed at either Jacob or Matthew. The students looked frightened, especially the girls, and the inmates seemed surprised or curious. Bella hadn't caught the incident from her corner, but she knew that something had happened just by looking at her colleagues' stupefied expressions.

Jacob was now the image of expertly contained rage, sitting still at his chair, looking nowhere further than the tape recorder left on his desk. He only looked up to the door the moment he heard it open and close, and he knew Matthew had just left the classroom. He kept his eyes fixated on the door as if he were counting down in his mind.

Minutes later, voices could be heard behind the door. When it opened, Jacob saw Matthew pointing him out to the guard. The guard didn't waver, he lunged in Jacob's direction and with a few wide steps, he was almost at his desk. Jacob rose slowly from his chair and when the guard was a few feet away from him, he grabbed his metal legged chair and with incredible speed and force, he hit the guard with it twice.

The 250 lbs man was now lying face down on the floor and Matthew immediately bolted from the room. He was closely followed by a few fellow students who had intended to come in or just happened to be close to the door.

Jacob knew time was not on his side and he needed to act quickly. Disregarding the gasps of shock and terrified faces of the students who were still in the room, he drew the guard's revolver out of his belt scabbard and pointed it to the remaining students, shouting at them to get out until he counted to three. As the crowd of students and inmates rushed to the door, jostling each other in their panicked hurry to flee the room, Jacob noticed Bella getting left behind, as usual. It didn't take more than a stretch of his long arm to grab her into a tight grip.

„_You're staying here"_ were the words that finally discouraged Bella's futile attempts to struggle free from Jacob's hold. He kept her in place until the last person escaped through the doorway, taking with her Bella's last hope of not becoming the innocent victim of a psycho teenager.

As soon as it was only the two of them and the guard lying on the floor, Jacob sprung to the door. He shut it closed and locked it. Then pulling down the large, heavy-looking bookshelf, he blocked the door with it. Bella was already feeling helpless, seeing how her feeble attempts at self-defense had been of no use. But now, witnessing and acknowledging Jacob's sheer strength and determination, she even forgot the few techniques her father, Charlie. had tried to teach her for such situations. She hadn't even really paid attention, because she didn't think she would ever need them. She always took care not to get into trouble. Now she could only hope that begging would work.

Jacob walked briskly to the other side of the room, toward the desk where he'd sat at a while before. But instead, he went and pushed aside the mobile blackboard that protected the unbarred window. Of course, it was a fixed window, but through it, he could see the crowd of guards and kids that had gathered, waiting in suspense.

He took two steps back, looked around searching for something, and soon set his eyes on a steel lectern propped in one of the corners. He seized it, stepping back a few feet, and flung it through the window, taking with it most of the glass on its way out.

Bella didn't let out even as much as a whimper in the two seconds that it took Jacob to get back to her, clamp her wrists back in the manacle of one of his large hands and push her forwards in front of the window. He pointed the gun to her head, menacingly cocking it and shouted to the guards standing outside:

"If you want her to live, get the warden to call the number I'll give you and ask about my sister! Tell him to come here only when he has an answer! And don't even think about coming for me, or I'll blow her brains out!"

One of the guards already had his mobile phone to his ear, apparently trying to call someone and getting no answer. Jacob dictated the phone number, the other guard memorized it in his phone, then ran off to find the warden.

In the silence that followed, Bella heard Jacob's quick breathing behind her. It was the only thing that reminded her that he was only human, just like her. And apparently nervous, despite all previous appearances.

As for herself, Bella was making a conscious effort to breathe again. Her lungs had stopped cooperating with her brain the moment she'd felt the gun at her temple. Her knees had gone weak and she would have surely collapsed onto the floor, if Jacob weren't supporting her weight. She felt dizzy now, and she prayed that she wouldn't pass out. Or, she thought, it might be better to be out than conscious for whatever her kidnapper had planned for her.

Jacob didn't give her much time to ponder. He pushed her away from the window, towards the blocked entry and sat her down on a chair nearby. He kneeled next to the unconscious guard, taking his wrist and bending down close to his head . Bella noticed the blood pooling around the guard's head and had to look away immediately, or she would get sick. She couldn't take the sight of blood.

„He's alive," Jacob informed her. Pushing with both hands, he turned the guard's face up. He took the handcuffs from the guard's belt, along with the small key used to unlock it, and shoved them into one of the pockets of his pants. He sprung up, going to the broken window again and called down to a few kids loitering in the yard:

„Hey! Call Dean and Rodney to get this guy to the infirmary!"

Jacob turned then and walked straight to Bella. The fear she felt reached new heights. Her limbs started shaking uncontrollably when Jacob took her from the chair. Holding her arms tightly, he pushed her towards the window again, but he stopped in front of the chair he'd taken for the interview and sat Bella down on it. He crouched, coming to eye-level with her, and took in her disheveled appearance. Her small shoulders trembled, even with her arms crossed over her chest as she tried to still them, her face livid, lips quivering, and her humid, blank stare made him word out the obvious:

„You are afraid of me... Listen, if you work with me on this, I promise I won't hurt you. If you don't... you leave me no choice... Do you understand?"

The look of consternation on Bella's face didn't give him much hope that his promise had managed to alleviate the effect of the shock. He knew that she heard him and understood the words, so all he could do was try to reformulate his message into something more persuasive.

„Do you trust me?"

Bella stared at him, wishing she could at least shake her head _"no"_. But she was frozen in place and wished her eyes could convey the answer to him.

„Of course you don't, and you're right, you can't trust someone who's got you at gun point. But I'm afraid you don't have any other choice right now. If they catch me and it all ends here, it won't for you, believe me. They won't let you walk away just like that. The warden and his loyal watchdogs will keep you locked in a room for as long as it takes to scare you into telling them exactly how much you know about me, have heard from me, and what exactly is your part in this. There is some nasty shit going on behind the scenes here and if I'm not telling you more about it, it's precisely because I want you out of trouble in case this turns bad for me... Please tell me you understand me."

Bella didn't understand much, but the intense look in his dark eyes told her that right now, what he felt above everything else was the need to be trusted. And he was right – it was not like she had a choice anyway, so she just obediently lowered her eyes and nodded, still trembling.

Jacob got to his feet, went around the table and sat on the chair opposite to Bella's. She looked so frail and lost, sitting across the table from Jacob, hugging her torso. Without even looking up at him, she was aware of the intensity of Jacob's gaze on her.

"I think you owe me an interview… Or I owe you one, since I interrupted…" There was no reaction from Bella, and Jacob wasn't sure that she could even speak.

"I'll start this," he continued, pressing the red REC button on the tape recorder.

"Name is Jacob Ephraim Black, 17 years old, from La Push, Washington." Seeing that what he said made Bella look up at him, he made a detour from his speech plan:

"Have you ever been to La Push, Washington, Bella?"

"Yes," she croaked.

After clearing her throat, she explained. "My father is from Forks. I was born there."

"What is your father's name?"

"Charlie Swan."

"Thought so… You know he's the one who handcuffed me first, two years ago?" Jacob asked with a bitter smile.

Bella felt close to a heart attack. So that's what this was all about. This guy hated her father and wanted to get back at him by torturing and possibly murdering his only daughter… Of all the juvies and inmates she could have chosen, she went straight to the one she should have run like hell from. This must be her fate, she thought.

"But I don't hold it against him; he was just doing his job… That's what he actually said - '_I'm sorry son, I'm only doing my job'_… He's not the reason why I'm here…"

Bella finally felt the claw-grip in her chest loosen and allow much needed air to pass through to her lungs. So then _what_ was it about?

"You don't remember me, do you?" Jacob asked trying to understand the puzzled expression on her face.

Bella could only remember a photo in her oldest family album, taken when she was 9 or 10 years old. She was on First or Second Beach, playing in the sand next to a pretty boy with tan skin and long, beautiful dark hair. _Could that be him? _Bella strived to compare the features in her memory to those of the young man in front of her.

"It's ok if you don't, it's been at least ten years since we last met…" he concluded, not looking disappointed.

"So… Isabella Marie Swan, will you go out with me?"

Bella didn't spend time pondering the question. She gave the only answer she thought appropriate under the current circumstances: an inexpressive "_yes"_.

Jacob didn't look the least impressed, probably because he suspected that her answer might have been different in a more normal situation.

"You're aware that this is being taped, right?"

"Yes," Bella repeated faintly, lacking inspiration or courage for a better reply.

"Not anymore," Jacob said turning off the tape recorder. "I hope you meant it, cause I would really like to take you on a date."

Before Bella had time to even wonder how _that_ would happen, Jacob heard someone calling him from outside.

Bella didn't feel the same blood-freezing shock when she was again pulled in front of the window, restrained and at gun point for the second time in the same day. Maybe she'd gotten used to it, or she just felt too numb to even think of trying to escape. She looked at the various expressions on the faces of the inmates, officers and guards outside. The annoyed face of the warden gave her the impression that he looked mostly miffed about being interrupted from his coffee or smoke break. Not in a million years would she have imagined that an old, fat version of Philip Seymour, wearing an expensive-looking dress shirt, watch and tie clip, would have the decisive say in whether or not a bullet went through her head that day.

"Black, what the hell is this? Didn't I tell you to wait until –"

"I don't wanna hear it! Let the boys come get the guard out of here! " Jacob said sharply, looking in the direction of the two burly inmates he had sent for earlier.

As soon as the warden confirmed that they could go in, Dean and Rodney climbed through the window. Working together, they managed to haul the heavy guard, who was now mumbling incoherently, safely into the yard. Bella noticed in passing that one of the guys threw a defiant smile, and a '_good luck' _ in Jacob's direction.

It was only the two of them left in the room now. They were both facing a pissed-looking warden, who was getting red and sweaty from waiting in the sun.

"Black, if that man –"

"Did you talk to my sister?"

"Uh, no, I got a woman named Sue-something on the phone and she said your sister hasn't returned yet."

Bella heard Jacob draw a deep breath. He spoke in a lower voice:

"Come closer to the window. Come on, I won't shoot you." … _though I've thought about it_, Jacob reassured, keeping the last part to himself.

When the warden was only 2 feet away from the window, Jacob resumed, trying to keep his tone down:

"I practically begged you for a leave and you didn't even give a shit about the reason why I needed it. Now I'm going to take not only that leave, but your car for a ride too".

Crowley's eyes bugged out of his head. He pursed his lips as if preparing to throw a canon ball through them, but Jacob didn't wait to hear him erupt into a torrent of insults and threats.

"Don't sweat it; you'll get it back without a scratch. I just want to take this pretty lady out on a date. She said yes, didn't you sweetie?" Jacob lowered his mouth to Bella's ear and she nodded rapidly, trying to look convincing and not scared-as-shit like she felt.

But the warden's grim face told them that he was far from being persuaded by this type of argument. It was time to pull out the big guns.

"If you can't part with your toy car, then we'll all just spend a glorious day right here. Or maybe not, since you'll be too busy scraping her brains and mine from the walls until the IDJC guys get here! That wouldn't sit well in your record, would it, Crowley?"

Bella could tell from the change in Jacob's tone of voice that he was hanging onto his last straw of patience. A sharp shiver went down her spine at hearing his words – was he really willing to kill himself too if he didn't get what he wanted? Things looked a lot more serious when he'd put it all on the line like that. The warden's now petrified face showed that the words had achieved their desired effect. But what Bella didn't know was that it was the crazed gleam in Jacob's eyes that had done the trick. For her own sanity, it was lucky that she hadn't seen it.

"Throw the key to Doherty and tell him to bring the car here."

The warden looked tortured as he turned in slow motion, threw the keys to Doherty and muttered the command. But his bruised ego was quick to recover, and as soon as they could see the shiny new all-black BMW Coupe coming around the corner of the building, he turned to Jacob with a spiteful look and grumbled through his teeth:

"You have no idea what you started. This will cost you more than you think."

Jacob didn't bother with a reply. He didn't care a hang about Crowley's dramatic u-turn and angry strut across the yard. He told Officer Doherty to get out of the car and open the gates, but leave the motor running. The officer was obviously reluctant to take orders from one of the kids. He complied nevertheless, since he hadn't been otherwise instructed by the warden.

Jacob looked at the kids in the yard and noticed Jed among them, wearing a preoccupied look on his face. But he couldn't afford to waste time now, so he called Dean and asked him to take Bella out the window and get her into the car while he got out. Dean seemed very glad to help and excited at the prospect of participating in an illegal enterprise, so he did exactly as Jacob told him.

When Jacob landed on the ground, below the window with Bella's bag in one hand, he saw a small figure running towards him. He looked just in time to be caught in a tight hug by none other than Jed.

"Jed man, I don't have time for this, sorry!" He quickly pulled himself away and threw a regretful glance in Jed's direction, before opening the driver's door.

"It's ok, take care Jake!" Jed replied with his usual benevolent smile and a hint of nervousness, right before the door shut. The car took off with a roar, stirring a cloud of dust behind it.

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	8. Chapter 8

**CHAPTER 8**

The distress of being manhandled, not only by Jacob, but by his less than polite inmate, made Bella forget something as elementary as putting her seatbelt on. She didn't remember even as the car was running at 80 mph on the interstate. But Jacob noticed and ordered her to buckle up.

Bella was sure she'd never taken a ride in such a powerful car; her father's cruiser didn't even get close to this. She didn't know if it was the excessive speed or the worries and thoughts that were relentlessly swarming her mind, but she was feeling increasingly dizzy and queasy.

When she felt that she could use her voice again, she asked so low that she didn't think Jacob would hear her:

"You're not going to return him the car, and you're not taking me on a date, are you?"

"No and yes… I still plan on taking you on a date. Just not right now…"

A few miles later, Bella felt that she was inevitably going to get sick, so she asked Jacob to pull over as soon as possible. He stopped the car at the first rest stop, but rounded it, parking the car out of view from the highway. As soon as the car came to a halt, Bella burst out the door and rushed to the bushes. Jacob threw an awkward "need help?" after her, but as she didn't even flap a hand at him, he didn't insist. He instead used the time to get better acquainted with Crowley's muscle car.

After a quick inventory of the contents of the glove box, Jacob thought about checking the trunk for anything useful. But before he got out of the car, he took off the uniform top. Its cut and the inmate number printed on its left front side would look suspicious to any passerby. He was left with his white undershirt and blue-black pants that didn't look anything but common.

The trunk was quite a different story: Jacob found a batch of small water bottles – the warden probably had them for the IDJC visit. There was also a quite comprehensive toolbox, as well as a fishing pole and kit, which looked more expensive to Jacob than any of those he'd seen at home. So, the warden was a dedicated fisherman, who would have thought? Sure, it must be delightful to bask in the serenity of nature while other people are risking their future and possibly their lives making money for you…

Not wanting to get irked by thinking of Crowley now, Jacob returned to sit in the car and wondered what was taking Bella so long. Should he go after her and help her? But if he found her in an… inappropriate situation, she might get even more pissed at him than she already was. It was not like she could just take off through the bushes. She wasn't in the necessary shape and she didn't take anything with her. Which reminded him that Bella's bag was under his seat where he'd shoved it when he got into the car.

Maybe Bella wouldn't mind if he nosed a little bit through it, just to find out something more about what type of girl she was. Looking through a girl's purse could usually prove very insightful. And also, if there was a cell phone that could be tracked, it needed to be turned off. He really needed to check the money situation too, since he had none on him. Her money would dictate exactly how low-cost the trip was going to be.

There was nothing out of the ordinary in the bag: mostly school-related stuff, very little girlie make-up, and no mobile phone. But in the wallet, beside her documents, there was fifty bucks, a credit card and some change. Jacob spotted a note in the bag written on a light blue piece of paper that looked a lot like the ones from the sticky note block in his room …. The paper even had _JACOB_ written on one side and an address on the other side…..

Jed! Jacob instantly remembered Jed trying to hug him desperately when he was about to get into the car. That's what he was actually doing: trying to slip the note somewhere. He'd gone for Bella's bag because it was open!

_Sneaky bastard!_ Jacob smiled to himself. Jed would be a good thief if it involved putting stuff _into_ people's pockets rather than taking it out. Now Jacob felt sorry that he hadn't taken the time to say a proper goodbye to Jed, or even a thank you. Especially if he'd known that Jed cared enough about where they would lie their heads that night to give them his aunt's address.

Jacob felt the handcuffs and gun weighing down his pants pockets, so he took them out and stuffed them into the bag, right as Bella came shuffling back to the car. He remembered the water bottles in the trunk, so he got out, and fetched one for Bella and one for him.

"Feeling better?" he asked cautiously.

"I'm fine," Bella snapped, trying to look tough, while her pale wax-like face didn't do her any favors.

Jacob didn't press the matter, but just started up the engine and drove the car back on the I86. It said in Jed's note to go along it, then take the I84 until the signs for Glenns Ferry came up. Almost three hours later, they entered the small, quiet town and Jacob looked for _'Daphne's'_ grocery store. It was supposed to be to the side of the main street, across the road from the post office.

It didn't take long for Jacob to spot the sandy brick house and the ground level store that looked as if it had traveled some 70 years or more from the past, into our times. It was well-kept, but the romantic font used on the store sign, the vintage looking posters and even the flower pots and flowery curtains at the upper level windows upstairs made him think of a museum from the interwar period, rather than an actual home and modern day corner shop.

As he stopped the car, Jacob realized that he had no idea what he was supposed to say if he knocked on the door and someone actually bothered to open it. And The tired, stoic look on Bella's face made it clear that he would have to do all the talking. He took the note Jed had written, and got out of the car, after telling Bella to wait there for him.

He entered the miniature store and looked around. The first impression he got from the neat, embellished interior and orderly arranged products was that the shop was managed exclusively by a woman. This was confirmed when the tiny salt and pepper-haired lady in her fifties appeared from the door to the back room and looked up at him curiously, while arranging the spectacles on her nose. She looked amazingly a lot like Jed: low height and weight, large eyeglasses and even the bewildered expression on her face.

"Good afternoon, can I help you?" she initiated, seeing that Jacob didn't seem to be finding his words.

"Good afternoon - Mrs. Johnson, I think? I'm Jacob Black, a friend of your nephew –"

"Oh, it's you!" she exclaimed with an animated expression, clasping her hands together. "I was expecting you, only I wasn't sure if you'd drop by today or later… I'm glad you've arrived! I am Daphne, Jebediah's aunt." She extended her hand after coming out from behind the counter. "I've prepared the guest room for you, so bring up your luggage and I'll show you around."

"Uh, I'm here with my… girlfriend… She's waiting in the car…"

"Oh, right! Silly me! Jebediah mentioned that there were two of you. So bring her in right away, or she'll think I have no manners." Daphne looked at the car through the door window and giggled merrily.

"Um, do you happen to have a garage, or a backyard where I could park the car?"

"You're right again! Why did I not think about it? I haven't had guests here for so long that I've forgotten how to be a good host! There is a garage to this house, but I'll need some help in removing the boxes there to make place for your car and open the door." She explained. "I've always used the entry from the house, and I honestly never even tried to open the main door. My late husband was the driver, not me, so he always took care of that…"

_Awkwardness and logorrhea clearly ran in the family_, Jacob thought.

"That is a mighty fine looking car! I think I've only seen something like that on tv once, haha! Don't get me wrong, this town is as safe as it gets, but this car is surely not the kind to be left at night by the curb… Is it yours?" Daphne finally asked with obvious doubt in her voice. Jacob looked way too young to be the owner of such a car.

"No, it's not. I borrowed it from a… friend, for this trip only."

Following Daphne's guidance, Jacob drove the car around the house, then opened the rusty door and quickly stacked the empty wood boxes in a corner. He parked the car in the garage, and opened the door for Bella. Taking her hand in his, he led her into the house through the garage entry, as instructed by Jed's aunt. As they entered the lobby, Daphne was placing a tray with a tea set and cookies on the small coffee table flanked by two colonial armchairs. Jacob introduced Bella to Daphne once again as his girlfriend, for consistency's sake, which drew a shocked gaze from Bella. Daphne didn't seem to take notice, and commented in her usual overly caring way, that Bella found instantly intimidating:

"Such an adorable young lady you are, with a name to match. But my dear, you look exhausted and like you could really use something to eat. Here, sit down and for starters I'll offer you some lemon balm tea and freshly home-made oatmeal raisin cookies."

Not wanting to offend Daphne by refusing her hospitality, both Bella and Jacob sat down, took their teacups and sipped the perfumed tea. Bella forced herself to eat one of the cookies. They looked quite good, but she felt like she was eating paper and she knew it had everything to do with her mood and not with the poor cookies. Jacob, on the other hand, after having munched four cookies was warring with himself to keep a restrained appearance, and wondering if there was some more serious food coming any time soon.

"Jebediah didn't have time to tell me on the phone much else other than that two of his friends would be passing through and that I should help with anything needed. I'm very happy to oblige, since you're the first friends that Jebediah has ever invited here… even if he can't be here to receive you himself." A shade of sadness passed over Daphne's face as she uttered the last words.

Jacob felt slightly relieved to understand that Jed's aunt knew very little about the circumstances of their trip. And just like Jed, she seemed gullible enough to believe that they were just a young couple stopping by on their long trip.

"So where are you two youngsters headed to?"

"Home, La Push, Washington. I live on the reservation there with my sister."

"Aaah, the Pacific Coast! I think I visited First Beach once when I was very young. The place was beautiful!"

Jacob felt weirdly pleased to hear a stranger complimenting the places he'd missed so much for the last two years.

"You two don't have any luggage with you?"

"Uh, no, we… kind of left in a hurry." Jacob answered, trying his best not to stir up suspicions. With Daphne, it wasn't even hard, because she seemed to have firmly decided that she liked them.

"There's nothing wrong with travelling lightly, I used to do it myself when I was young. I could fit everything I needed into a duffel bag. That is, until the children came and a big ol' truck wasn't enough for all the things they needed on a trip!" Daphne laughed joyfully.

"But it's a long way to La Push, and even with your state-of-the-art car, you are certainly not prepared for crossing the Blue Mountains. You'd turn into icicles wearing only those flimsy rags of yours." Before Jacob or Bella could even begin to object, Daphne carried on with an admirable, although slightly annoying, tenacity:

"Now, I think I can put together a very decent wardrobe for you, young man. You're a giant just like my son, so if I dig through the trunks with his stuff that he put in the attic before he left, I'm sure I can find something you could use." Daphne felt the need to expand although Jacob and Bella's discreetly pained expressions would have made anyone else see that they were starting to drown in the flood of unnecessary information.

"He moved to sunny California 13 years ago. He now has his own family and he visits me only on holidays. I'm sure he won't mind me putting his things to better use, since he's never asked about them after he left. As for you, pretty miss… I could offer you some of my own clothes, since you're as twiggy as I am, but I don't think the granny style would work for you."

_Especially if it's with flower prints,_ Bella thought.

"But I'm sure I can come up with something good for you too, don't you worry." If it hadn't been for Daphne's benign smile, Bella would have been freaked out by the woman's unusual generosity. Even on a normal day, Bella would have worked up a sweat trying to come up with a polite return to Daphne's compliments and offers, but presently, all her thinking processes were slowed down to a slur. Fortunately, Daphne seemed to finally realize that, and after a few more questions about Jacob's family and home town, to which he gave terse and evasive replies, she turned to Bella :

"Oh little dear, you haven't said a word so far, you must be dead tired, and what am I doing? Keeping you sitting there like a doll, when what you need most right now is a good rest. Come, the two of you, I'll show you to your room."

Daphne led Bella and Jacob upstairs to the guest room, which was perfectly welcoming for whoever had a soft spot for flowers and anything floral-related. The walls were painted a warm tangerine and floral motives were inherently and ubiquitously present: on the window curtains, on the bed covers, even in the two small paintings on the walls and on the porcelain water pitcher on the nightstand. The room was a floral frenzy and every bit contrasting with Bella's gloomy mood.

Daphne showed them the way to the bathroom and where to find extra blankets in case they needed them. All the while, Jacob nodded, seemingly attentive, but was actually anxious at the prospect of going to sleep on an almost empty stomach. Luckily, his host seemed to have read his thoughts and proposed that Jacob come help her get her son's suitcases from the attic, but only after she'd served them some dinner.

It was of no surprise to them when Bella told them that she'd prefer to stay in the room for the rest of the evening. Only upon Daphne's insistence, did she agree to have a sandwich and a glass of milk brought upstairs. There was a TV in there, so she wouldn't get bored in case she didn't feel like sleeping yet.

Jacob didn't comment on her decision; he just left her alone and followed Daphne downstairs. Bella was surprised when less than ten minutes later, Jacob returned to the room holding a tray with the milk mug and grilled turkey-salad sandwich in one hand, and her bag that he remembered to take from the car in the other.

She was literally surprised when Jacob entered the room, as she was half-bent down at the open window. She was trying to assess the possible consequences of climbing down the wall and falling on the way, given her notorious lack of coordination.

Of the two of them, she was the one who wore an astounded expression - or actually a scared one. She just didn't know what to do, now that she'd been caught trying to escape. She was also beginning to feel afraid of Jacob's reaction. So much so, that she was considering making an emergency exit out the window while there was still time. Unfortunately, she couldn't move at all, but just stood there clinging to the windowsill and staring at Jacob like a deer in the headlights.

Jacob paused in the doorframe at this sight, but for no more than a couple of seconds. He then quietly walked to the low rectangular table, laid the tray on it, and placed Bella's bag on one of the two beds. With his hands now free, he walked slowly in Bella's direction. Frozen in place with fear as she was, he had to gently nudge her to the side in order to close the window.

Bella found Jacob's cool and undisturbed appearance just as frightening as that of an enraged criminal. Probably because the scariest she'd seen him was when he was acting just like this.

He walked back to the door and closed it, before walking to the bed where the bag was, and spoke calmly:

"I had a feeling you would try something like that because the window was the first thing you laid your eyes on when you came into the room." He started searching for something in the bag and continued:

"But for God's sake, Bella, it's a 15 foot drop from there…"

He pulled the gun out from the bag and Bella's lungs instantly went into panic mode: her chest heaving and her heart pounding.

"I promised that I wouldn't hurt you and I meant it… Guess I just wasn't convincing enough…"

Instead of pointing the gun at her like Bella expected him to, Jacob started taking the bullets out of the gun's chamber one by one, and then dropped them in an old vase that sat on top of the narrow oak closet. Returning to the bag, he continued with an uneasy short smile:

"This is going to make me sound like such a psycho, but… I didn't want to do this, but you leave me no choice." Jacob let out a sigh as he took something from her bag and started walking towards her.

When Bella realized what the shiny thing in Jacob's hand was, he had already reached her and taken her hands into a grip that made it impossible for her to use them. Just as before, her struggling had little to no effect on Jacob.

He dragged her to the nearest bed, sat her on it, and took her left hand, closing one half of the handcuffs over her wrist and fastening the other half to one of the iron bars of the bedpost. He brought the nightstand with the food tray and tv remote within reach of her right hand. Lastly, he took the empty gun and wrapped it in the black bag of the garbage bin. He informed Bella on his way to the door:

"I won't be gone for long."

Downstairs, Daphne had cooked dinner and set the table, waiting for Jacob to return. She served him potato leek soup and baked potatoes stuffed with cheese and bacon. It seemed that potatoes were the main ingredient in almost any food around here, but Jacob didn't complain as long as the food was undeniably delicious and the servings king-size.

When dinner was finished, Daphne took him to the attic, where they went through the suitcases and picked what she considered relevant. Before going up to his and Bella's room, Jacob called the Clearwaters' home number and was surprised to get Seth on the phone. His voice was almost unrecognizable, much deeper than Jacob remembered from one year ago, when he'd last seen Seth. He didn't get to say much, just that he was ok and catching up on some homework, before Sue anxiously took over the phone.

After a string of questions on his whereabouts, which Jacob skillfully avoided, Sue eventually gave him the one answer that Jacob hoped he wouldn't have to hear: Rachel was still missing. And there was still no news of her. Jacob didn't feel like talking much after this, so with the usual _take care and talk to you soon_, he ended the conversation.

An hour later, Jacob returned to the room, carrying a black and olive backpack, that looked filled to the brim.

_Must be the clothes Daphne mentioned_, Bella thought.

Jacob put it down at the foot of Bella's bed, then took a few things out and set them on the chair facing the dressing table. There was a 3-pack-set of long-sleeved cotton blouses – white, powder blue and black; a 3-pack-set of pastel colored underwear; a pair of classic blue jeans; a purple fleece sweater; a basic toiletries kit and a new pair of pajamas. With floral patterns, naturally. All these things looked about her size, and Bella just couldn't comprehend this woman's excessive generosity towards a stranger, like her. Possibly because another thought was distracting her from it right now: Jacob had brought her… panties. He'd seen them, touched them and surely he imagined her wearing them later… _crap!_

Bella felt the annoying blush threatening to spread all over her face. With considerable effort, she managed to ward it off before it got completely out of her control and embarrassed the heck out of her, as it usually did.

But there was one more detail that was much more distracting, interesting even. Bella had noticed it the moment Jacob stepped in the room and she got the chance to take a closer look when Jacob approached her to unlock the handcuff and free her hand.

Jacob had let his hair down from the usual ponytail and it was now hanging down like a silky dark curtain around his face, but only long enough to brush his shoulders. Bella noticed that his hair looked slightly wet - he had probably showered, hence the new t-shirt and jeans he now wore. As he was sitting on the bed close to her, she could see how the glossy strands reflected the dim light in the room and suddenly the image of the little boy with long, dark hair from the old picture crossed her mind. It had to be him.

She mostly remembered playing with his older sisters, who had even longer hair than him. He definitely had beautiful hair; tied back, let down, long or short, it looked good any way. And it wasn't only the hair that looked good on him, it was…

Bella snapped out of it, not wanting to let the train of thought go in a totally wrong direction. It happened when Jacob's eyes met hers and, out of pride, she looked down, feeling like she'd been caught ogling.

Even if the boy was unquestionably good looking, the fact still remained that he had taken her, and was keeping her hostage. She shouldn't let herself get sidetracked by superficial considerations.

There was a faint pink trace on Bella's left wrist, where the handcuff had been. It didn't hurt much because she hadn't even tried to struggle free and her wrists were slender enough not to feel too much pressure from the cuffs. It was just her arm that felt almost completely numb as Jacob moved it away from the bed post.

But Jacob looked slightly worried as he studied the marks, brushing his thumb over her tiny wrist. Bella didn't suppose he would apologize for fastening her to the bed or even ask her if she felt pain, so, not wanting to prolong the awkward silence, she pulled back her hand from his.

"It's nothing. Can I go to the bathroom now?"

"Sure sure," Jacob replied, returning to the backpack. "Daphne said she left clean towels in there if you want to take a shower." That was all he got to say before Bella got out the door on her way to the bathroom, clutching the pajamas in one hand.

While in the shower, Bella spent every minute thinking about the predicament she was in and about the person who had brought her into it. It was the only time she could analyze Jacob – when she was not in his presence.

She couldn't explain what it was about him that caused her to lose all courage to oppose him whenever he talked to her or just looked her way. It wasn't fear, and that's what confused her. Jacob had an imposing presence, not only physically, but powerful in other, indefinable, ways as well. And Bella had never considered _herself_ as a powerful presence, quite the contrary. Of course, she'd _wanted_ to, but she just couldn't find it in her…

Naturally, the first thing she did when she got to the bathroom was to look out the small window. She was sure she could squeeze herself through it, but the fact that there was nothing to cling to on her way down, greatly lowered her chances of surviving the fall. Since it didn't seem likely that she'd start sprouting wings anytime soon, she just had to admit defeat. Having no money or ID also didn't help, if she still managed to somehow escape in one piece …

But did she have real reason to fear this Jacob guy? If she was honest with herself, he didn't seem all that bad… Sure he'd seemed unpredictable, and maybe even a bit deranged, but not bent on forcing himself on her at all… But she didn't know anything about his past. And she'd seen the way he was looking at her!

_Oh, come on you were checking him out too... Shut up!_

The moment Bella started arguing with her own conscience, she knew she had to take immediate measures and clear her mind before things got worse. Sleeping worked most of the time. Well, not when she'd be sleeping in the same room with a tall, athletic fugitive juvenile who seemed to be into her for some reason. But since there wasn't really an alternative, she'd just have to try.

When she returned to the room, she was surprised to see that all the lights, except the lamp on her nightstand, were off and Jacob was not in the room, or so it seemed. He wasn't far either, Bella realized when she saw him push the thick flowery curtain aside and come into the room, from what looked like a small balcony.

There was a balcony to this room? Bella was stunned. In her initial desperation to escape through the window, she hadn't even noticed that the curtains masked the exit to a balcony. So even if she'd found a way to escape, he'd have noticed her running away, from there. But would he have stopped her... ?

"You can come out too if you need some fresh air; the view's great from here…" Jacob hesitantly invited her.

"Uh, no, I think I'll just go to sleep…" Bella grumbled peevishly. She turned off the remaining light, not caring if Jacob would manage to find his way to his bed in the darkness or not. He could sleep on the balcony for all she cared.

But not long after she climbed into bed, she heard him close the balcony door. He pushed the curtains all the way to the side, and from her bed she could now see part of the small town and hills, the starry sky and the crescent moon. He was right, it looked really nice.

But what Bella saw next looked even more… intriguing: Jacob had taken off his t-shirt and was now disposing of his jeans. And in his walk from the chair to his bed, Bella acknowledged the fact that there was a clear resemblance between the beauty of the natural scenery and Jacob: in both cases, the right proportions were there and they all seemed to be put together in a perfectly admirable way.

With thoughts of the gorgeous, escaped convict who was interested in her and was now sleeping almost naked in the bed next to hers, Bella drifted into a much needed, deep sleep.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-


	9. Chapter 9

**CHAPTER 9**

When Bella opened her eyes to the morning sunlight, the bird clock on the wall - _not bad for a change_ – indicated that it was close to 9 a.m. It was still early for her and she thought that the anxiety had spread into her subconscious mind as well, and stopped her from sleeping at least one more hour.

But it wasn't early for Jacob, it seemed, as he was not in his bed or the room anymore. Ideal scenario: he had taken off without her. Most probable: he was in the kitchen having breakfast and waiting for her to get up.

So realistically speaking, there was nothing else to do other than get dressed and go downstairs to see what Jacob had planned for today.

Of the three new blouses, Bella chose the black one. She put on her old grey jeans and headed to the bathroom to splash some water on her face and try to do something with her hair. It didn't look like a good hair day for her, so a side swept braid would have to do.

As she was starting to descend the stairs, a staggering thought crossed her mind: what if the silence in the house meant something bad? Maybe Jacob had indeed left, but first… what if she turned the corner to the kitchen, and was welcomed by the sight of Daphne lying in a puddle of blood on the floor, at the foot of the stairs?

_Oh, grow up! And lay-off the horror movies for a while! _

Bella made a note to herself as she continued down the stairs, although her steps were a bit insecure now. There was no one in the kitchen as she entered, but it smelled delicious, and the sudden rumble in her stomach reminded her that she hadn't eaten a proper meal since the previous morning.

Before she could locate the source of the mouthwatering aromas, Bella was greeted by Daphne's convivial voice, as she came into the kitchen through the door from the garden.

"Good mornin, honey! I'm so glad you decided to join me downstairs. Jacob had breakfast almost two hours ago, but he said you were still sleeping. It gave me just enough time to bake these almond-brownies especially for you! Jacob had blueberry jam pancakes, but I asked him and he said to go with the brownies, cause you would surely like them."

Daphne was completely right; actually Jacob was. Bella always enjoyed brownies, especially if they looked and smelled as exquisite as the ones Daphne had put in front of her.

"Bella dear, I don't mean to be a nag, but I really think you should have a good breakfast after having only half a glass of milk for dinner. If you just have brownies, you'll be too weak to get on the road. I'll make anything you like, you just tell me. Would you like a cheese, ham and eggs sandwich like Jacob had?"

Bella decided to go for a lighter option, so Daphne suggested a mushroom and green peppers omelet and Bella gladly accepted. She didn't remember the last time she'd had such a rich breakfast. It was probably when she had the time to prepare it for herself. Renee, and especially Charlie, were nowhere near to being good cooks; the former because of lack of patience and the latter because of lack of interest.

Bella herself usually lacked the time to consider breakfast. When she had classes or work in the morning, she was lucky if she woke up in time to sip some coffee before she had to catch her bus.

The omelet and brownies were heaven and Bella felt rightfully spoiled. But there was one more thing that she had saved a little space for in her stomach and so she dared to ask Daphne if there were any blueberry jam pancakes left from Jacob's breakfast.

She didn't know why she did that, they'd never particularly been her favorites, but she felt like she needed to refresh her memory of their taste. And Daphne was happy to oblige. As Bella was ready to take the first bite of the pancakes, she remembered to ask Daphne of Jacob's whereabouts, since he wasn't anywhere in sight.

"Oh, he's in the backyard working on my truck. That old rusty heap is starting to show its age and since I'm no good with cars, any clunking or creeking scares me enough to not drive it anymore. I never had to worry about this when my husband was alive, he could fix anything, God rest his soul… I think Jacob is going to be just like him. He's a fine young man and that is quite something for someone who became an orphan at such a tender age…"

That piece of information took Bella by surprise. She couldn't remember having read that in Jacob's file. She did remember that the charge was 'robbery and assault causing severe bodily injuries', but she didn't know the circumstances in which it happened, or the reason behind it. After the recent events, she had vilified him in her mind. She imagined him as the former member of a gang - possibly the leader - and didn't think that there _might_ be more to the story behind the deed.

Remembering to try to keep up appearances, she lowered her eyes, which were widened in amazement at hearing Daphne's words, and resumed eating.

"And you know what else I think? That he cares a great deal for you. You must feel like a very lucky girl," Daphne finished with an admiring smile.

_Oh, you have no idea… _Bella thought to herself, trying to mask the involuntary eye rolling with a hand to her temple. But then, the question flew past her lips before she had the time to think twice about it:

"Did he tell you that?" After hearing herself, Bella just hoped that the question had been discreet enough not to make her seem desperate for details.

"Not directly," Daphne chuckled. "But for a woman of my age, some things are hard to miss…"

Bella felt inevitably embarrassed by Daphne's clever smile, to the extent that she welcomed the interruption when Jacob entered the room. He said _good morning_ to her, and informed Daphne that the truck's problem had been temporarily solved. Seeing that Bella had finished her breakfast, he let her know that they'd be leaving as soon as he washed up a bit and took their bag to the car.

Less than half an hour later, they were at the car, in front of Daphne's house. They thanked her for her hospitality, and in return, she hugged them both affectionately and made them promise that they'd return to see her when Jebediah was able to join them.

The next four hours straight of driving on the I84 were made unnecessarily monotonous by Bella's obstinate reluctance to speak to Jacob. She was his hostage _damn it!_ and she was not just going to start pretending that she was ok with it. Or with Jacob's uneasiness with breaking the ice. He had his own worries that hadn't relented since his last meeting with Sue.

When Bella finally used her voice to tell Jacob that she needed a bathroom stop asap, Jacob realized that he was hungry enough to eat at least one of the sandwiches that Daphne had packed for them. He stopped the car at the next rest stop and they shared the sandwiches. Jacob got the chance to take a closer look at a touristic map of the surroundings.

The sun was setting, and it was probably wise to start looking for a place to stop for the night. The Emigrant Springs State Park looked like a good choice: it was not far from their current location and there was a camping site, a gas station, a convenience store and hopefully an ATM. They didn't have much need of the store, since Daphne had been thoughtful enough to load half of their backpack with canned food, like soup, beef stew, veggies and fruits, breakfast bars, cocoa biscuits and sodas – all in all, enough provisions to keep them fed for a week or so.

Jacob had wanted to pay for the food – the clothes and meals were enough freebies already - but seeing how Daphne kept insisting that everything was 'on the house', he knew better than to argue with her. So, instead, he chose a different tactic: he told her that he owed Jebediah 50 bucks and that he didn't think he'd meet him sooner than her. That sounded plausible enough for her to accept the money.

The only problem now was that they were out of cash and by the looks of it, soon to be out of gas too. The indicator on the fuel gauge let Jacob hope that they'd be able to at least get to the camping site and implicitly, to the gas station.

He filled Bella in on the plan of action and was surprised that her reaction was nothing close to what he'd expected. She wasn't mad that he'd spent all her cash, or furious that he intended to pay for the fuel with her money. Instead, she looked embarrassed, and even slightly worried when she replied:

"There isn't any money left on my card…"

"What?" Jacob could only hope that was a joke. Or a bluff, and he would be able to tell if it was.

"The trip and stay at Twin Groves were prepaid and the return was supposed to be today. The money from my part-time job comes only next week and I was supposed to get back a hundred that I loaned to a friend when I got back to Seattle…"

Bella's voice faded out towards the end of her explanation and Jacob understood why. But the problem now presented was too serious to be ignored, and such bad planning made him feel like a complete idiot.

"Well, that is an unexpected complication… I'll think of something, but first we have to get to the campgrounds at Emigrant Springs before nightfall."

"How are we going to rent a cabin if we don't have any money?" Bella asked, somewhat alarmed at Jacob's cool demeanor.

"We won't have to. It's an old camping site and there are usually out-of-use cabins or abandoned ranger lodges around. We just have to find one before it gets dark and too difficult to see it in the forest."

Bella didn't feel at all settled with Jacob's assurances and a new swarm of doubts and fears were blurring her judgment, keeping her completely silent all the way to the Emigrant Springs State Park.

Jacob drove the car to the main camping site, but didn't park it in the parking area. He drove further into the woods, following the most visible road, possibly a lumberjack trail, until the brush grew too thick and the slopes too steep to go by car.

He got out of the car, opened the trunk, took what he thought could prove necessary from the toolkit and the backpack, then opened the door for Bella.

"We're walking from here on. Grab your bag; we don't have much time to lose. We have a flashlight but it's preferable to see around the place by daylight."

Bella reluctantly followed in Jacob's steps, dragging her feet as if she was the one carrying the heavy backpack, not him. They had been walking for a while, getting deeper into the woods, along a faint trail that didn't look like it was often used. Even Bella could tell by the number of fallen trees crossing it, and the coating of dry leaves and tall vegetation that covered it almost out of sight.

The darkening blue-gray twilight and the shade of the towering oaks in the old-growth forest were making it increasingly difficult to see anything in the distance.

But Jacob was the first to spot the two dilapidated cabins in the clearing in front of them. One was broken-down, its roof collapsed, and only one wall standing. The other one looked slightly newer but not in a much better condition. There were a few holes and cracks in the old wood here and there, but at least it was still standing.

Jacob walked towards it, wanting to check the state of it on the inside and if it was inhabitable. There was an old lock on the door, but it was so rusty that it cracked open with one quick jerk of Jacob's hand. The inside of the cabin looked a little less decayed than its outside, but it was obvious that the cabin had never been well-kept, even when it was still in use.

The whole sight was giving Bella the creeps, and she didn't like the idea of spending the night here, even the tiniest bit. No longer being able to hold her apprehension, she voiced the first thing that came through her mind:

"We're trespassing. What if the ranger, or whoever owns this cabin, comes and finds us here?"

"If anyone still used it, it wouldn't be the wreck it is. And the way the locks on the doors and windows look, I'd say that nobody has been here for years."

His answer did nothing to calm her jangled nerves, because that was not the real reason for her anguish. Bella sank down into the one good chair, tired. Not necessarily physically, but incapable of doing anything by the siege of unanswered questions that kept stirring panic in her mind:

_What is he going to do to get gas for the car if there's no money? Is he going to steal it from someone, beat someone up like he did with the guard? Is he going to steal someone else's car, maybe even shoot them if they try to stop him? Why did he take me to this abandoned cabin in a secluded area, far away from the campsite? He could do anything to me and no one would even hear me crying for help!_

If she had a choice, Bella wouldn't have thought twice before calling Charlie to come get her out of this mess. She was sure her father would have been there immediately, or sent someone he trusted, in the shortest time possible. But she didn't see Jacob calling for help from Chief Swan of FPD, after he'd abducted, threatened with death, and dragged his daughter into the middle of nowhere. Actually, he didn't seem to be thinking of calling _anyone_ for help.

_Did this guy even have friends? Probably not, because he managed to scare all of them away,_ Bella thought, studying Jacob from where she was sitting, without really noticing what he was doing.

Jacob was walking around the cabin, looking for and gathering stuff that they could use for sleeping, preparing food and most importantly setting the fire, as the night threatened to be quite chilly in this part of the woods. He found two ragged, dusty mattresses, two big worn-out blankets, some pots and cutlery in a cupboard, a bucket, a stoker and an ax.

Bella didn't know what she could do or if she was supposed to help him arrange the room. On top of it all, she lacked the will or energy to assist Jacob in whatever he was doing. He hadn't invited her to anyway, and as long as he didn't give her any instructions, she was fine with sitting on her chair, waiting… for time to pass…

_And then what? _

The thought of having to just obey and wait, not really knowing what would happen to her next was starting to turn into a choking feeling, as if she was struggling for air in a tight space.

Why hadn't she tried harder to free herself? Why did she make it so simple for Jacob, by quitting so soon? Instead of using her brain's full capacity and thinking up a smart escape plan. It wasn't too late for her, and maybe now was her last chance to come up with something.

That's what she did the moment Jacob told her he was going outside to gather firewood. Bella tried to visualize their way from the place where they'd left the car to the cabin, but she couldn't remember many details. The forest looked pretty much the same everywhere to an untrained eye and Bella had very little hiking experience. The one thing she remembered clearly was the stream with a narrow log bridge that she had crossed with great fear and difficulty.

It was possibly two miles to the car, and at least one more to the camping site. Bella hated the idea of walking alone in the woods at night, but if she could at least get far enough away to use the mobile phone she'd kept hidden in the inside pocket of her jacket, she could call Charlie. Then she could at least hope that someone was on their way to find her and take her home in the shortest time possible.

She waited until Jacob returned with the wood and started up the fire. She put on the most impassive face she was capable of and asked him if she could go outside to use the bathroom (figuratively speaking, because there was none to be seen) before dinner.

He distractedly answered "sure sure", and handed her the flashlight. Wanting to avoid making him suspicious of her intentions, Bella left her bag in the cabin.

Outside, the darkness was already thicker than she'd expected. She could only see due to the full moon spreading its dim silvery light on the clearing. Bella stood in place for a few seconds, waiting for her eyes to adjust to the dark and then looked around, striving to remember from what part of the forest they'd entered the clearing. She knew she had to hurry to get deep enough into the woods that Jacob wouldn't be able to hear her speaking on the phone or find her without the flashlight.

Bella took a deep breath in an attempt to dissipate the fear that gripped her when she looked at the pitch-black darkness behind the front row of towering oaks. With wide, resolute steps, she went into the forest and didn't stop walking until not even a glimmer of light from the cabin windows could be seen through the thick trees. She stopped when she thought that she heard the murmur of the stream water, on top of the song of crickets, along with the irregular calls of some nightbird and the leaves rustling in the wind.

She strained her hearing to locate the direction from where the sound of the water was coming and then she spotted on the left, what she thought to be the old trail to the cabins, the one Jacob led her on earlier. She followed it with the help of the flashlight until she reached the stream.

She managed to cross the narrow, unstable bridge, although unsupported; it was with much higher efforts than the first time. It certainly didn't help that her legs got uncontrollably shaky from the insane dose of adrenaline that spilled through her body and Bella felt incredibly fortunate when she touched the ground on the other side of the bridge.

She took a few more steps, before remembering the phone and thought that it was now safe to try to call her father. She took the phone from the interior of her jacket and opened it. The unexpected disappointment hit at the realization that she'd forgotten to take into consideration one decisive factor: the coverage in the area or lack thereof, as was the case.

But she didn't get stumped; she kept an optimistic frame of mind, and told herself that she just had to keep walking towards the campsite until she reached coverage area. She'd intended to walk the distance anyway, and, if needed, she'd find the park ranger or deputy, and tell them she'd gotten lost and she needed to contact her father asap.

A sudden motion through the bushes startled her out of her thoughts and for the first time since she'd stepped into the woods, she remembered that there was wildlife other than birds here too. Must have been a squirrel or rabbit, or something, Bella told herself, keeping cool and continuing along the trail.

A few seconds later, she heard another sound, like branches cracking. It was louder and seemed closer than the first sound. It was certainly harder to ignore it or pin it on the small forest animals this time. The apprehension caused Bella's steps to slow down and become hesitant.

She didn't know what she should do: continuing forward didn't seem like the best idea right now, but neither did turning back. She didn't think she had the nerve or energy to do that, after she'd spent it all on getting here and Jacob would certainly be raving mad at her for trying to escape.

She took two more unsteady steps, treading carefully, suddenly very aware of the dry twigs and leaves under her feet. The next particular series of noises made her blood freeze in her veins: two low grunts, intent sniffing and loud huffing and puffing. This left Bella no doubt that a very large animal was in her vicinity, and it had noticed her presence.

She mindlessly swung the flashlight around her, stopping dead in place the moment two fluorescent eyes became visible in its beam. The eyes shone on top of the head of what looked like a giant, full-grown black bear.

_Oh God no!_ Bella had seen a real life bear only once before, when she was little. But Charlie had been with her and the bear had been smaller and not so close.

This one was less than 15 feet away, and by the surprised sounds it made, it wasn't very happy to be in the spotlight. Or, maybe it _was_ happy, seeing what he identified as an easy dinner, Bella feared.

The second the initial paralyzing shock wore off, Bella felt a jolt of adrenaline, and against all common sense , she sprung in the opposite direction, running at full speed back to the cabin.

If the bear had been undecided or wary until then, Bella's sprint definitely served to pique his interest and to set the huge mass of muscle into motion on her trail. It wasn't very fast at first, but it gained speed alarmingly quickly and hearing it increasingly closer, Bella expected the bear to pounce on her from behind at any moment.

She didn't even know how she remembered one simple tip for such a situation: run through the trees, instead of taking the straight wide trail. It was amazing how she managed not to bump into any of them in her desperate rush.

Bella got to the stream surprisingly quickly, and with no time for inner debates or delays, she started crossing the bridge. She hoped that the bear wouldn't have the courage to follow her on the slippery logs. If it did, the old rotten wood would probably not hold its weight.

Halfway across the bridge, she was overcome by a feeling of futility and despair when her wobbly legs stopped helping her, and instead of propelling her to the other end of the bridge, they gave out on her. She fell into the shallow waters. The excess adrenaline made her body numb, thus allowing her to feel very little pain on impact. It was only when she tried to get up from the gravel and push forward to the other shore, that a sharp, stabbing pain in her limbs made her realize that something was seriously wrong.

The bear sounded very indignant and excited and looked like it was trying to descend under the bridge and get to the gravel bed where Bella had managed to crawl with excruciating effort. She really thought this was the end for her. She felt more helpless and alone than she ever did in her life.

She was sorry for being a stupid, spoiled brat and not having given Jacob a chance. She closed her eyes, squeezing out tears of despair and regret, hoping that it would all end quickly.

But soon, the bear's frustrated grunts ceased. Bella heard him puff a few more times and then it turned around and trudged away from the stream. Bella couldn't believe her eyes when, in the faint moonlight, she saw the back of the bear disappearing between the massive tree trunks.

She heard footsteps on the gravel next to her and before she could turn her head and take a good look, a tall, familiar figure swept her up in his strong muscular arms, and carried her out of the stream.

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_**My dear readers, many thanks to all of you who have put my story on alert or chose it as favorite! You made me very happy! I think you probably know what would make me even happier... an itsy-bitsy review from each of you, only to know what you like/dislike about the story so far and where you would like to see it going! **_

_**Hugs & kisses to you all!**_

_**Meanwhile, here's some interesting reading I recommend – an exclusive interview with my wonderful & very talented beta, Willow2883! (just replace the words in brackets with the symbols and you'll get the link): **_

_**h t t p(colon)jacobblack-n-pack(dot)ning(dot)com(slash)group(slash)inthespotlight(slash)forum(slash)topics(slash)in-the-spotlight-authors-interview-with-willow**_


	10. Chapter 10

**CHAPTER 10**

"Care to explain to me what the hell you were thinking? Did you really want to get yourself killed?"

Jacob stood still, next to the fireplace where the flames were almost dying. He fixed her with a furious glare for what seemed like an eternity to Bella, but was in fact no more than a few seconds. She didn't feel like taking a tongue-lashing from her own kidnapper, so she stared at the floorboards in front of her, refusing to raise her eyes to him.

He started for the door, yanked it open and returned with an armful of firewood a few minutes later. He quietly stoked the fire. He didn't look her way even once, until the flames were dancing again in the fireplace, spreading light and heat in the room.

She still didn't dare shift from the place on the floor where he'd set her down; not only because she was afraid of his reaction, but also because she dreaded the pain that moving would cause her. She didn't want him to see or hear that; she didn't want to acknowledge her newly acquired weakness in front of him.

Her mind hadn't even processed the fact that she'd dodged a gruesome, even deathly experience, no more than twenty minutes before. Instead, the only danger she could see and think of was the strong, angry young man now standing in front of the fireplace.

Jacob only took into consideration the former possibility. He also guessed that her currently shaken state of mind wouldn't allow her to care about something as basic as preserving her health. He felt like beating himself up for not helping her regain some feeling of security by showing her some sympathy.

Well, given their present situation, he knew he shouldn't expect her reaction to be much different, but he still felt compelled to help her in some way. After all, _he_ was the reason she was even here, to begin with…

So, he did the only thing he could think of: he turned around from his spot in front of the fireplace, took the few steps towards her, crouched in front of her and tried to help her remove her wet jacket.

But the moment his hand came in contact with her shoulder, Bella pulled her arm away with a sudden jerk. In the next moment, she snapped a terrified yet hateful glare into his eyes. He pulled his hand away as if she'd burned him, and with confusion on his face, he mumbled:

'I thought you needed help with –' He trailed off when his eyes met hers, and in the next second he shot up, standing.

'You know what? Fine! Stay in those wet clothes if that's what you want!'

Bella winced at his furious tone and lowered her eyes to her folded knees. With two strides of his long legs, he was back in front of the fireplace, visibly too nervous and unable to resume what he'd been doing before. Like a caged lion, he paced back and forth in front of the fire. She expected the worst from him now that they were alone, at night, in a stranded cabin. _And_ she'd managed to piss him off by trying to run away. Jake ran a hand through his hair and sputtered with a faint, bitter smile:

'I really thought you were smarter than that, what with your college education and all…' The ironic smile left his face and he spoke in a lower voice, as if trying to accentuate each word:

'If I wanted to take advantage of you, I'd have done it long ago. I had plenty of occasions and the will for that…' he said the last words turning his face away from her.

Bella dared to slowly raise her gaze up to him. She noticed how the lights of the fire danced over his boyish yet manly face, his jaw tightened, brows furrowed. She saw the lights flickering in his dark eyes the moment he turned to her again, and he looked angrier than before:

'You're so selfish that… it's unbelievable! All you care about is your own comfort and you're not even doing _that_ right! '

It was at this moment that Bella acknowledged the discomfort of her wet, cold clothes. She wished she would have let him help her remove them. She might have already been warm by now…

'Do you think we're on a hike for my own amusement? I wish it was, but every moment I can't stop thinking that my sister might be in the hands of who-knows-what sleazebag, and I can't…it's driving me insane!...That's how every minute feels until I find her… and the thought that I might get to her too late – '

Jake spoke the last words in a strangled voice before he trailed off. His eyes fixated on the fire and Bella noticed that his hands were clenching the back of the wooden chair so tight that his knuckles had turned almost white.

He abruptly sat down on the wooden floor next to the chair, his arms on his knees and resting his head on them, so that his eyes were averted. She knew what he had said wasn't meant to be purely informative. Jacob was in no state of mind to talk with detachment about why he escaped. It was mostly an outburst of his inner torment - not his first - but Bella had to admit, it was quite restrained compared to the last one. She'd seen him do much worse and she was definitely not expecting less this time.

In any case, speaking about it had only made it worse for him, and Bella couldn't help but feel bad about her part of the guilt. He was right, she _was_ selfish and inconsiderate, not to mention immature, to a certain extent.

Jacob hadn't shifted from his position and the only sound in the room was the snap of the blazing firewood. She was sure that Jacob wanted her around now, just as much as she'd wanted him right before meeting the bear. She thought she'd do him a favor by not bothering him for the rest of the evening. If she could quietly take off her sticky jacket, sneakers and maybe jeans too, she'd wrap herself in that questionable-looking blanket, and just go to sleep …come what may the next day.

So first, off with the jacket…_owww_! ….

The pain that shot through her the moment she tried to move her right arm, made Bella whimper and then break into uncontrollable sobs.

No, she couldn't hold it back anymore now. It wasn't just the pain in her shoulder, it was the feeling of helplessness. She had none of her loved ones around; no one she could trust. She cried for every minute of terror, and every hour of anguish she'd been put through these last few days.

It was for not knowing what would happen to her tomorrow and when this nightmare would finally be over…

Jacob lifted his head to look at her, and after a few moments, he was by her side, slowly peeling the uncomfortable clothes and sneakers away from Bella's shivering body. The process caused Bella an incredible amount of physical pain, in spite of Jacob trying to focus on hurting her as little as possible.

He understood what the actual cause was when he got a look at her bare shoulders and ankles. Even in the dim light, he could see that her right shoulder looked visibly deformed, and one of her ankles was slightly swollen.

"Does this hurt?" Jacob asked, while running his fingers down Bella's upper right arm, applying very gentle pressure. Bella shook her head 'no' and wiped away the tears from her cheeks with her left hand.

"Good. Hopefully it's only dislocated, and not broken. I've seen this before, I know how to put it back, so don't worry," Jake informed her calmly, while Bella stared at him, eyes as wide as saucers.

"Can you move your toes?" Jacob asked, now looking at her right foot. Bella wiggled her toes a couple of times and scowled from the pain.

"OK, first things first; your shoulder."

Jacob looked at the chair that he was now happy he hadn't smashed and thrown into the fire, the way he had felt tempted to a little earlier. He took the better blanket, unfolded it and covered the chair with it.

"You have to sit on the chair. I'll help you." Expecting Jacob to help her rise to her feet, Bella extended her left arm to him. He ignored it and instead scooped her up in his arms and carried her to the chair. After sitting her down, he helped her fold her right arm in her lap, and held it firmly around the elbow-joint with one of his large hands.

"This will hurt a little, but you'll be fine afterwards," Jacob said, looking apprehensively into her eyes for a second. Not wanting to let her get even more scared in anticipation, he put all his focus into synchronizing the quick downward pull of her arm and bump of his fist side to her shoulder, hoping that it was all it would take to fix the problem.

"OUCH!" Bella yelped and involuntarily tried to jump up from the chair, only to be instantly reminded by a different pain that she couldn't stand on both feet.

"Bella, move your right shoulder!" Jacob ordered, trying to calm her down. Bella obeyed reluctantly and was nothing short of amazed to see that she could move her right arm as naturally as ever. She was so amazed that the sharp pain had just ceased, that she couldn't stop the elated grin from spreading on her face.

But shortly, she checked herself, thinking this wasn't the time for exaggerated reactions. Lowering her eyes to her hand, she muttered a 'thank you'. The trace of a smile touched Jacob's shapely lips and his eyes softened for a moment before he instructed her:

"Stay here, I'll be right back." He dashed to the door, grabbing the bucket on his way out. After he shut the door behind him, Bella stayed still in the relative silence of the cabin, and she couldn't help but notice that it somehow felt heavy.

She'd never before imagined being alone in a place like this, and now, even given the circumstances, she was sure she wouldn't want to. She became aware that she was sitting on a cracked wooden chair in only her white cotton tank top and panties. A shiver made her wrap the blanket she was sitting on around herself.

It wasn't from the cold, as she was quite close to the heat radiating from the fire, but the thought that Jacob had seen her like this. Actually, he had gotten her in this state of undress, and Bella had to admit that he hadn't made any gesture or thrown her any inappropriate looks to make her feel uneasy.

Jacob came back into the room carrying the bucket half-filled with water.

"It's from the stream" he explained."I couldn't find any ice around, so... this should help the swelling go down a little," he added. He placed the bucket in front of her and carefully lifted her right foot.

Supporting her shin with one hand and her heel with the other, he warned her before inserting her foot into the bucket. "It's pretty cold".

Bella's groan and grimace were her only reply, but after having her foot in the water for a few seconds, she realized that the coldness indeed helped to diminish the pain.

"Keep it there for awhile," he added.

He stood up and took his t-shirt off. Bella's eyes flew open wide at the sight of a half-naked Jacob, now ripping the thin-cotton shirt he'd had on a a minute ago into long, narrow strips.

And what a sight it was... Bella mentally rebuked herself for letting her eyes linger a bit too long on his wide, strong shoulders and arms, his contoured chest, perfectly shaped stomach and tapering waist.

What made it even more difficult to keep her eyes to herself was the way the ambery glow of the fire bounced off his smooth, russet skin. It made Bella feel ghostly pale in comparison, and happy that she had a large blanket to cover most of herself in.

Luckily, he was too busy concentrating on what he was doing to have noticed Bella's ruminations.S**he **waited patiently and watched while Jacob snapped one long wooden slat off the back of the broken chair, then broke it in half. He approached her with the pieces of wood and strips of cloth in one hand, and the remains of his t-shirt in the other. When he lowered himself in front of her legs, Bella felt her face flush.

The realization that she could do nothing to control it, made her feel even more embarassed. She tried to will it down by keeping her eyes on the foot that Jacob was now wiping dry with a piece of his former t-shirt. She knew her reaction didn't go unnoticed by Jacob when she felt his gaze studying her face while he wrapped the wood pieces with the cotton bands, and tied them tightly to the back and sole, of her foot.

To her relief, all Jacob said when he finished bandaging her foot was „done". Then he picked her up in his arms once again and carefully lowered her onto one of the matresses. The last thing Bella heard before drifting off to sleep was a whispered „goodnight".

Strangely, it made her dream of a time when she was still a little girl, visiting her father in Forks for the summer, and he would tuck her in for sleep, wearing a rare, serene smile.

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_**A/N: Thank you once again for your support ! **_

_**This Christmas, may **__**joy and happiness snow on you, may the bells jingle for you and may Santa be extra good to you! Merry Christmas!**_


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